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OUR BEGGAR PROBLEM

ACKNOWLEDGMENTS

The Editor and Publishers offer their grateful thanks

to the following persons for allowing the free use

of their photographs in this book

Mr. Qasum Ali, Moghafpura ; Mr. L. Shalom ,
Cawnpore. Mr. Pranlal K. Patel t Ahmedabad;
Mr. M. J. Vyarawalla, Bombay, and many others.

OUR BEGGAR PROBLEM

HOW TO TACKLE IT

EDITED BY

Dr. J. M. KUMARAPPA

Director, Tata School of Social Sciences, Bombay

FADMA PUBLICATIONS LTD
BOMBAY

1945

First Edition, 1945.

Printed by V. R. Sawant at the Associated Advertisers & Printers Ltd., 505, Arthur

Road, Tardeo, Bombay 7 and Published by Morarji Padamsey, for Padma Publications

Ltd., Laxmi Building, Sir Pherozeshah Mehta Road, Fort, Bombay.

C O'NJ EN T S

PAGE
INTRODUCTION Ill

Chapter I

* TYPES OF BEGGARS

By KATAYUN H. CAMA, M.A. (Bom,), M.SC., ph,D.
(Mich.), Presidency Magistrate of the Juvenile
Court, Bombay - ... - l

Chapter II

* CAUSES OF BEGGARY

By RADHAKAMAL MUKERJEE, M.A., Ph.D. (CaL), Head
of the Department of Economics and Sociology,
University of Lucknow - - - 19

Chapter III
MENTAL TRAITS OF BEGGARS

By the late N. N. SEN GUPTA, M.A., ph.D. (Harv.),
Head of the Department of Philosophy,
University of Lucknow .... 27

Chapter IV
BEGGARS A MENACE TO PUBLIC HEALTH

By B. C. DAS GUPTA, B.SC. (HON.) (CaL), M.B. (CaL),
M.R.C.P. (Ireland), D.T.M. & H. (Lond.), D.P.H,
(Lond.), Executive Health Officer, Bombay
Municipality ------ 41

I Chapter V

PROFESSIONAL ORGANIZATION AMONG BEGGARS

By AMAR CHAND BHATIA, M.A., Assistant Editor,

44 Tribune ", Lahore 58

Chapter VI

AN HISTORICAL SURVEY OF BEGGAR RELIEF IN
INDIA

By M. VASUDEVA MOORTHY, Ph.D. (Bom.), Lecturer
in Sociology, Tata Institute of Social Sciences,
Bombay ------ 69

Chapter VII
FROM CHARITY TO SOCIAL WORK

By the late P. M. TITUS, M.A., B.D., Ph.D. (Chicago),
Lecturer in Social Work, Tata Institute of
Social Sciences, Bombay (1989-42) - - 89

Chapter VIII
THE CITIZEN AND SCIENTIFIC PHILANTHROPY

By B. H. MEHTA, M.A., Ph.D. (Bom.), Reader in Socio-
logy, Tata Institute of Social Sciences, Bombay - 107

Chapter IX

A SCHEME FOR THE GRADUAL TACKLING OF
THE BEGGAR PROBLEM WITH SPECIAL RE-
FERENCE TO THE CITY OF BOMBAY

By J. F,, BULSARA, M.A., Ph.D. (Lond.), Deputy

Municipal Commissioner, Bombay Municipality - 119

Chapter X
LEGISLATION RELATING TO BEGGARY

By JOHN BARNABAS, B.A., (Lucknow), DIP.S.S.A.,
(Tiss.), Organizing Secretary, Social Service
League, Lucknow - - - - 159

Chapter XI

A PLEA FOR SOCIAL SECURITY TO PREVENT
PAUPERISM

By J. M, KUMAKAPPA, M.A. (Harv.), S.T.B., M.A., Ph.D.
(Colum. ), Director, Tata Institute of Social
Sciences, Bombay - - - - 199

APPENDICES I, II & III, Personnel, Expenditure, and

Management of a Beggar Colony - - 285

APPENDIX IV Beggar Legislation in India - - 247

INTRODUCTION

Every social problem that we encounter demands of us
a solution ; but a practical solution can be arrived at only
through an intelligent understanding of the nature, extent and
root causes of the problem. The beggar question is no excep-
tion to this rule. While the beggar in India has always been
an object of charitable attention, the beggar problem as such
has seldom been a subject of rigid scientific inquiry. No doubt,
there have been a few local studies and regional investigations
but no definite research has been conducted on the problem in
its entirety and proper perspective.

r* There are some fourteen lacs of persons in India whose
sole means of subsistance is begging. This huge army is com-
posed of both sexes and of different physical and mental traits.
There are those who are able-bodied but lazy and prefer to live
by begging, and there are those who are unemployed and must
perforce depend on others for support. Then again, there are
religious mendicants who have taken a vow of poverty or find
dependence on charity an easy way of making a living. But
these are not all ; there are the disabled ones the blind, the
crippled, the deaf-mute as well as those who are mentally
deficient and others who suffer from numerous horrible and
loathesome diseases and the little children, with and without
parents, who are victims of neglect or exploitation.

(Jin this volume anjattempt is made to deal with the different
aspects of the question ij^rder t^^ ortfie

beggar aftd ^ffie"^ beggaF problem. { It is assumed that the
"ueh a ur3eiTT6"Tui5self as he is to society.
Perhaps for" its own sake as well as in the interest of humanity,
society should bear a greater share of responsibility in providing
for his care or treatment, for this purpose it is necessary to

III

INTRODUCTION

have a scientific appraisal of the subject as a whole. Therefore,
the problem is studied here from different angles by writers who
are specialists in their respective fields. While each chapter
has unity and individuality of its own which accounts for slight
overlapping in some places it is here linked up to the others
in a series of comprehensive progressiveness.

Writing on the types of Indian beggars, Dr. Cama gives
us some fifteen categories under which they may be grouped.
Although her study of exploited child and of the physically and
mentally defective exposes the unnatural and repulsive practices
and conditions prevalent among the beggar population, it brings
out clearly the needs of each type, an understanding of which
is necessary for tackling the problem scientifically. "Beggary,"
says Pr, Jtfukerjee, "is a symptom of social disorganization."
The major factors making for its prevalence are to be found,
he points out, in the breakdown of the socio-economic structure
of the country.

As one without any means of self-support and existing upon
the charity of others, the destitute develops some distinctive
mental characteristics, and the late Dr. Sen Gupta gives us_a
psychological analysis of the beggar personality and shows that
"the beggar exhibits a certain deficiency in durable emotional-idea-
tional-motor orientation to the situations that daily life preci-
pitates", and that he represents a case of mental atavism and
a throw-back to an earlier social order. Whatever the root
cause of this problem, the beggar profession is a social evil.
Dr. Das Gupta is of the opinion that from the point of view
of public health, beggars with communicable diseases are a pro-
lific source of infection and in consequence they are a menace
to the health of the public^* In spite of it all, these people are
allowed to wander about from place to place, to grow in numbers
from day to day and organize themselves into a profession.
Mr. Bhatia, who has carried out an investigation into this aspect
of the beggars' group life, points out that they tend to evolve
into a highly systematized units with administrative machinery
of their own. Such associations exist in various parts of India.
In tackling the begga? problem, it is necessary, he maintains,

INTKODUCTION

to attack the units of which they are a part and reorganize them
for productive effort. He thus brings to light an aspect Which
is not commonly known or recognized.

Though the problem of the- disadvantaged and under-
privileged is not a new feature of our social life, yet it has, in
modern times, increased both in extent and intensity. Dr. Moorthy,
therefore makes a historical survey of pauperism and points
out that while individual charity and State aid played a great
part in caring for the destitute, the socio-economic structure of
ancient India minimized begging and distributed equally the
incidence of relief. Now that the old structure has all but
broken down and State help has disappeared, the problem has
become more aggravated. The beggar now depends almost wholly
on indiscriminate charity which encourages thousands to join
the legion of paupers and destitutes.

Is it desirable, one may ask, to make such large numbers
of people depend for their living on public charity? If we
have to maintain them, is tliere no other way less demoralizing
and more scientific than unorganized alms-giving? Both
Dr. Mehta and the late Dr. Titus answer this question at length
from different angles. The present method of giving relief
not only is far too intermittent to be of any abiding value but
makes the diseased poor move from one locality to another
spreading infection. Further, it encourages hoboism and idle-
ness, and derpives the nation of some of its manpower. Never-
theless, the idea of giving alms has a mighty hold on people
because of the sanction of religion. It is pointed out that in
all early societies the salvation aspect of charity was emphasized
as far as the giver was concerned but tlmt the receiver of the
gift was not treated as a personality.

In the West the growth of cities, rapid industrialization,
spread of democratic ideals and changes in social and religious
life have all brought about new conceptions of charity and new
techniques of dispensing it. We too must introduce modern
methods, re-orient our charities and vitalize our social services.
Dr, Mehta makes out a case for the rationalization of our beggar
relief. Charity, he declares, needs to be guided along scientific

INTRODUCTION

lines. For this purpose proper agencies should be set up to guide
the giver and the receiver alike. A well organized system of
scientific philanthropy will help greatly to reclaim thousands
from a life of dependence, and make them self-supporting and
self-respecting members of society

Is it not possible, some may ask, to abolish beggary through
legislation? In some of our cities the law empowers the police
to apprehend any one who asks for alms. But mere arrest of
such a person is no solution of the beggar problem. It is as
useless to have laws without proper Homes to detain and re-
habilitate beggars as it is to have Homes without legal authority
to commit them to such institutions. Therefore, it is imperative
to have legislation as well as Homes or Colonies where beggars
could be received, classified and treated according to the needs
of each individual case. In the absence of such machinery,
beggars have no option but to resort to begging, and laws can-
not but be ineffective. Dr. Bulsara deals with this aspect of
the problem and gives an interesting and detailed scheme with
an approximate estimate "of expenses for running a colony.

A good scheme such as the one formulated by him can
be effective only if it is backed by proper legislation. Hence,
Mr. Barnabas gives us a critical account of Vagrancy Acts in
some of the Western countries, and of the statutes relating to the
prevention of beggary in the various Provinces and States in
India. Further, he suggests salutary changes in the existing
beggar legislation to make it more useful. In addition to
statutory provisions, it is necessary, as has already been pointed
out, not only to start beggar colonies but also to direct the
present individual charities along institutional lines.

Modern industrialism has brought in its trail manifold risks
and hazards which are daily increasing the problem of poverty
and dependency in India. Much work is being done in other
countries in the field of social security, but in India the workers
and their families are badly neglected with the result that many
of them become destitutes. Therefore, Dr. Kumarappa makes
a plea in the concluding chapter for social insurance against
industrial disability, superannuation, maternity risks and such

INTRODUCTION

bther ills to which the poor in general and the workers in parti-
cular are exposed. While social security measures will go a
long way in minimizing pauperism, only a thorough reorganiza-
tion of our social and economic life, he believes, would help
ultimately to eliminate beggaryli^

>X, No claim is made here for an exhaustive treatment of the
subject. Nevertheless, it may be stated that this is the first book
of its kind, bringing together a lucid analysis of the problem by
writers who have made a deep study of its different aspects.
These chapters were originally written by them as articles for
The Indian Journal of Social Work of June and September,
1943. In ^ r iew of the demand for them and of the importance
of the subject, it was decided to put the articles together in
book form. Most of the chapters have been revised and illus-
trations have been added. Our thanks are due to the authors
for revising their contributions and giving us permission to
reproduce them. It is hoped that the ideas and suggestions
contained in this volume will stimulate and provoke thought.
If these pages provide food for riper deliberation and effect-
ive social action to control and prevent beggary, our efforts
will not have been in vain.

15th January, 1945. J.M.K.

Bombay

VII

TYPES OF BEGGARS

In our country beggary has become a gigantic problem.
To find a satisfactory solution to this it is necessary first to
undertake a scientific analysis of the various types of beggars.
Therefore, the author Dr. (Miss) Katayun H. Cama discusses
here the principal types with their sub-types in the hope that
it will stimulate the social worker to approach this problem
intelligently by making a more intensive study of the nume-
rous types of beggars that exist in India and then adopt measures
of rehabilitation suited to their several needs.

PERHAPS the most sinister of all social ills, or shall we say
* evils, is beggary. \It is not without reason or deep
thought and serious study that A. M. Biswas, the
Founder-Superintendent of the Refuge for Beggars at
Calcutta, has remarked, " the status of a place can best be judged
by the number of its beggars, " It is a curse not only in respect
to its immediate effect on\its victim but it is the root of nearly
every other social evil as well. jfreggary ^. Qns ^^g s a ver y
complex social problem^ It leads t6 physical dCi^lOTationi
mental incompetency, preventable disease and starvation, and
wrecks lives by forcing them into crime, mental abnormalities,
family maladjustments, and social irregularities of
description. As it is vitally interrelated with other Social proble

OUR BEGGAR PROBLEM

like unemployment, intemperance and poverty, its right
solution requires the utmost care on the part of social workers
and students. Indeed, beggary has assumed such gigantic
proportions in India, that only a well-studied scientific approach
may help us to arrive at anywhere near the beginning of a
solution of the problem 'in its hydra-headed aspects. Some
of the questions that baffle the sociologist are : Why does
beggary persist? What are_jhe fundamental causes of the
Can it be eradicated or isTit to remain with

mankind for ever? No satisfactory answer has yet been found,
Yet, we know in part at least where the cause lies, but have
been powerless, for some reason or other, to strike at it or to
remove it. As no fruitful attack can be made on the cause,
nature, prevention and cure of this serious social disease
without fully understanding the variety or classes of beggars,
it will be well for us to start with a study of the types of beggars
that infest our society.

Beggars have been classified according to varied categories.
The lay person usually associates the idea of begging wfth the
unutteraoly ;poor, the disabled, the blind, the crippled and the
diseased who seek assistance or charitable contributions. In
Western countries where begging is not as acute a problem as
it is in India and China, the classification of the type of beggars
is rather limited. Irwin St^, John Tucker 1 divides_them into
three groups hoboes, tramps and * bums '. According to him,
** A 'hobo is ft migratory worker. A tramp is a migratory non-
worker* A * bum ' is a stationary non- worker '*, Somewhat
more different than this isAnderson^^lassification into seasonal
labourers, migratory casual labourers, migratory non-workers,
non-migratory casual labourers and * bums *. In his opinion the
4 btftns* are the lowest of all the types of homeless men. They
include alcoholics, drug addicts; old, helpless and unemployable
men, the most pitiable and most repulsive of all the u down
and outs '". 'They are stationary non- workers who gravitate
between the fodt-paths and the jail, living on the charity of

Jr.

1 World Tomorrow. 6: 262, 1028,

2 Anderson, Nels, The Hobo, p. 265.

' OF BEGGARS

their fellowmen. The beggars and petty thieves Among the
4 bums ' are the most conspicuous of the homeless men. From
this classification it will be seen that the reference is to homeless
men rather than beggars and that the type, Scale and seriousness
of begging as it exists in India is not even dreamt of. These
homeless men in Europe and America present? a far different
picture from that of the beggars in India who grovel in stark
naked poverty, starvation, filth and disease. Means of 4t getting
by " vary greatly with the different types of homeless men
in the West. The hoboes work at odd jobs like those of dish-
washers, potato peelers, waiters, janitors while in the city, and
of lumber- jacks, teamsters, harvest hands while in the country.
The non-migratory casual labourers depend a good deal on begging
either openly or under the guise of peddling pencils, shoe-laces
and such other articles. Sometimes they sell cuff-links, collar
blittons, cheap eye-glasses and watches, " putting on a stunt "
or making a speech to draw a crowd. Some of them pretend
to be sick, deaf and dumb, blind or crippled. Others indulge
in soapbox oratory and sell papers or books on the labour
movement and pass the hat for their own benefit. Others exploit
younger children making them sing or recite a piece with a view
to making a sentimental appeal. Some make a speciality of
exploiting the charities, while & considerable number try to
gain sympathy by appeal to the clergy, the trade unions, fraternal
organizations and the like with a " hard luck " tale. They beg
and borrow from each other. They also rob each other, taking
particular advantage of the man who is asleep or druni; . In
mild weather they sleep in parks, vacant houses, box cars or
in the open. In the winter they make themselves at home in
railway depots, doorways, mission floors and pool rooms. They
walk the streets at night and find a place to doze through the day.
They beg openly on the street or shamefacedly at back-doors.

The downward steps in the demoralization of the homeless
nian. are likely to be somewhat as follows : (1) Inability to
find regular work, (2) extended period of unemployment,
(8) travelling in search of a job, (4) after a time travelling without
working much, (5) wandering without working at all except

OUR BEGGAR PROBLEH

as a last resort, and (6) ultimately settling down in some city
to Jive .by begging. Thus we find that there is always the
possibility of the regular workman becoming a hobo, the hobo a
tramp and the tramp a * bum *. In England this class of homeless
men are called " incorrigible rogues and vagabonds ". The
beggar in England is described as consisting of " every person
wandering abroad, or placing himself or herself in any public
place, street, highway, court, or passage, to beg or gather alms,
or causing or procuring any child or children (under 16) to do
so ". It also comprises " every person wandering abroad and
endeavouring, by the exposure of wounds or deformities, to
obtain or gather alms or endeavouring to procure charitable
contributions of any nature or kind, under false or fraudulent
pretence ". It would be both profitable and interesting to study
the measures adopted by England, America and the various
European countries to combat the problem of begging and to
meet the needs of these homeless men including the hoboes,
tramps and " bums ". But as such a study does not come within
the scope of this chapter we shall proceed by way of contrast
to examine the types of beggars existing in India.

The types of beggars in India may be classified and
considered under the following categories : (1) The child beggar,
(2) The physically defective, (3) The mentally defective and
mentally ill, (4) The diseased, (5) The able-bodied, (6) The
religious mendicant, (7) The bogus religious mendicant, (8) The
tribal beggar, (9) The employed beggar, (10) The small-trade
beggar, (11) The temporarily unemployed who are employable,

(12) The temporarily unemployed who are unemployable,

(13) The somewhat permanently unemployed who are employable,

(14) The permanently unemployed and unemployable, (15) The
permanently unemployed who are viciously or incorrigibly
unwilling to work. \

This is by no mfcfens an exhaustive or complete list of the

types of beggars as each broad division implies several sub*

iivisions. Nevertheless, it is somewhat helpful inasmuch as

t gives an idea of the complexity of the problem and helps thfc

jocial worker to view the problem in its proper perspective.

TYPES OF BEGGARS

The Child Beggar. It is no exaggeration to say that the most
heinously victimised and exploited of the beggars is the child
beggar. The child beggar may be a paid or unpaid assistant
to an adult beggar. When he thus assists his parents or relatives
his only reward is days of wandering and starvation and the tinkle
of the copper coin in his bowl. Very often a child is just left
on the streets to die, or often, if he happens to remain alive,
to fend for himself. Such a child out of sheer destitution takes
to begging until he is brought by the police to the Remand Home
and committed to an institution for the protection and care of
children, or to a certified school in the provinces where such
institutions and schools are provided either by the Government
or by the public or by some bodies or societies interested in the
welfare of children. In many provinces and native states of
India no such schools, institutions or societies exist, and the
child is allowed to beg and roam the streets at large until in
his* adulthood he automatically merges into the incredibly vast
army of professional beggars. Among other child beggars are
those who are born defective, and those in whom the deformity
is intentionally and knowingly caused by the parents for
their own profit. The arm or leg is twisted after birth and
the child is paraded in the streets to draw the maximum amount
of sympathy. Others wilfully neglect to nurse the child until
he appears to be on the point of death so that the public moved
by the emaciated, anaemic and death-like appearance may pour
out their nickels and coppers. Very often these parents are
only too thankful if the child is congenitally deformed. Such
parents look upon the child not as a human being, but merely
as an object for arousing pity. The life, welfare or death of
the child has no meaning in their scheme of existence* If one
such child does, they are ready to produce many others equally
defective or more so. Then there are the feeble-minded who
fall an easy prey to the machinations of the most unscrupulous
riffraffs and sink to the lowest level of beggary and degeneracy.
Iii contrast to the feeble-minded children are the perfectly norriial,
aftd intelligent children who openly and brazenly beg in the
streets, trams, trains and railway stations. They either sing

OUR BEGGAR PRQBU&M

or pretend to be blind and crippled. Others who work as
hoe*shine boys often accost the public for alms, and still others
do So under the pretence of selling some nick-nacks.

To illustrate how cruelly and in what various ways children
are exploited, I may take the liberty of quoting a few passages
from a speech given by Mr. K. M. Munshi (the Ex-Home Member
of the Government of Bombay), under the auspices of the Tata
Graduate School of Social Work :

* *' But beggary would not be a profitable trade if there were
no children to attract the customer's attention. The beggar
child, therefore, is the most valuable asset in the trade ; and as
such is sold, bartered or mortgaged. The ordinary price at
which a blind child can be bought is Rs. 5, that of a crippled
one is Rs. 3. Some years ago I came across the case of a child
which had shells put into its eyes to look like blind.

** What about the poor child? It is beaten, thrashed^
branded into learning the arts of attracting your sympathy-
Near the General Post Office a little boy, a short while ago,
attracted the generosity of passers-by by piteous importunities.
After hours of crying the boy would gt tired ; the guardian
who sat a little farther away branded the child's hand by a lighted
bidi whenever the child's strength to whine failed. The man
was caught red-handed and the child when examined confessed
that for months together every day when its voice failed it was
treated with the stimulant of being branded.

. * 4 Crippled children are also parked out in the city to beg.
So-called upcountry orphanages also bring stray children and
train them to beg in the city to collect funds for their institutions.
Two mentally defective girls were found to have been trained
to dp monkey tricks in the streets for money. Once street
acrobats dangled children by their hair as they walked pn tight
rope ; in one case an year old baby was swung by rope round
its neck as the woman acrobat performed on the rope*

u Th$re was one case of a boy who was trained to be* deaf
and .dumb. Jn the Remand Home after seven weeks he gave
up his training and was found to be quite sound. On one day
t the Children's Aid Society the deaf and dumb boy spoke,

TYPES OF BEGGARS

the blind one saw and the lame one jumped: a ifiiracle whifeh
the prophets of old could envy ! The child is thus an article
of trade.

" Then again take another form of child slaVery. Not
far from where I am addressing you there are children, boys
and girls, employed in brothels as menial servants; Throughout
the night they fetch things from Irani shops to their employers
and only when the Vigilance Branch of the Bombay City Police
raids a brothel such children are reclaimed from the life of
drudgery and vice to which they have been consigned.

" Another form of child trade in the City is that of the
* Champiwalas \ the professional masseurs. Most of such boys
are brought out from Northern India to slave for their employers
and satisfy the homosexual instincts of the under-world. They
ply their trade after midnight, these poor victims of homo-
sexuality and venereal diseases. In one night 25 ckampi boys
were brought for admission to the Children's Aid Society. They
were all from Sialkot and worked in groups for men in the worst
areas of the City. The employers arranged for the boarding
of these boys and lived on their wages.

" There is another form of child slavery in Bombay which
is literally shocking. Tender girls or boys from Goa, Mangalbre
and some other South Indian towns areJmported into Bombay.
Their age is sometimes, .seven and they are employed 'on a
salary of Rs. 2 or 3 per month.- The child slaves from early
morning till late at night, often the only servant of a large
family. It has no friends or relatives. If it fails to carry
out any of its numerous duties or gets ill, it is punished cruelly
often by being scalded with hot water or branded with tongs
or live coals ; and is a victim for the sexual rapacity of any male
adult in or attached to the master's family. "

Most of these cases which Mr. Munshi has taken from the
records of the Children's Aid Society, Bombay, show cleariy
how totally different and much worse off the Indian child beggar
of the 7 or 8 types touched upon here is when compared with
the dependant and neglected children in Western countries. <

The Physically Defective.-^ Among this type of beggars 'may

OUR BEGGAR PROBLEM

be classed the blind, the deaf-mute, and the crippled and deformed.
Besides these, there are the chronically under-nourished and
those afflicted with various organic troubles, or weaknesses
of the vital organs- Of the first named three outstanding types
of physical handicaps, blindness seems to be the surest passport
to the sympathy and purse-strings of the public. The erring,
misguided and so-called charitably minded persons dole out
their pennies to the blind so readily that the latter find it much
easier and much more profitable to beg than to take to some
industry after training and re-education. Neither the public
nor the beg nr seems to care for the schools or institutions for
the blind. These institutions are hardly ever taken advantage
of by the congenitally blind beggar and the one who becomes
blind in old age.

The deaf-mutes again can easily be trained and absorbed
in some industry or agricultural labour, but they too find the
profession of begging much more remunerative. Very little
thought has been given to the prevention of blindness and
deaf-mutism as the blind and deaf and dumb are regarded as so
handicapped from birth and the factor of later acquisition of
these defects through accident, disease, old age or serious illness
is ignored. There are many who can hear but cannot speak
and several who can speak but cannot hear. Yet these are all
indiscriminately classed as poor, handicapped, helpless persons
fit only to beg. This attitude has encouraged begging to such
an extent that many bogus beggars pretend to be blind, deaf
or dumb, or both deaf and dumb.

The crippled and disabled constitute another very important
sub-section of this type of beggars. The crippled must be
distinguished from the disabled as those who are crippled in the
sense of being dismembered, form a minority of those who are
disabled. The Division of Re-education of the Minnesota State
Board of Control has defined a disabled person as " Any person
who by reason of physical defect or deformity whether congenital
or acquired by accident, injury or disease is, or may be expected
to be, totally or partially incapacitated for remunerative occu-
pation ", The problems presented by the disabled child and

OF BEGGARS

disabled adults, while alike in many respects, differ in others.
Most of the disabilities of children arise from diseases which, if
treated in time, can often be cured. Some of the commonest
causes of disability among crippled children are : Infantile
Paralysis, T. B. of the Bone, Spastic Paralysis, Cardiac defects,
Rickets, Amputations, Congenital defects, Osteomyelitis, Arthritis,
Obstetrical Paralysis, Sleeping Sickness, Accidents.

With the adults, injuries are more frequently the results
of accidents* and there is less possibility of cure. Nevertheless,
both require medical and surgical attention and care. The
child needs special provision for his education while the adult
frequently needs re-education. Among both adults and children
are found those who may be expected to recover with little
or no lasting handicap and in both groups are those who, by reason
of congenital defects, amputations or paralysis, will always be
disabled. Yet no crippled or disabled beggar in India ever
dreams of seeking surgical or medical aid. In fact, he considers
it his special advantage and privilege to beg and as mentioned
above, not infrequently he actually causes the child to become
crippled. Any loss or deformity of leg, arm, hand, foot, eye
or sight is at once welcomed as an asset and exploited to the
fullest to earn a livelihood by begging. Such are the perversities
of the fraternity of the physically defective beggar and such
the ignorance of the public who go on giving them alms instead
of utilizing that very capital for establishing special institutions,
hospitals and schools for medical, surgical and educational
treatment of these handicapped individuals.

The Mentally Defective and Mentally III. This type of
beggars include the feeble-minded and those suffering from mental
disorders. The feeble-minded may be variously grouped* On
the basis of I.Q., Davics has suggested that " the nearest approach
to a satisfactory definition would combine both the psychological
and social elements and indicate an intelligence quotient below
a certain level plus a certain deficiency in other personality
traits leading to social inefficiency, as determining factors in
constituting mental defect* "* On the basis of pathological

I DavievS. P., Social Control of the Feeble-minded, p, 21.

OUR BEGGAR PROBLEM

conditions in the nervous system and other parts of the body,
the feeble-minded may be divided into (I) the microeephalic
(those with abnormally small skull), (2) the hydrocephalic (those
with enlarged skull and propularly known as having water in
the brain), (3) the paralytic and (4) the traumatic. On the
basis of educational possibilities the feeble-minded are divided
into those requiring (1) asylum care, (2) custodial life and
perpetual guardianship, (3) long apprenticeship and colony life
under protection, and (4) training for a vocation. On the
basis of economic criterion the mental defectives are divided
into three major groups : idiots, imbeciles and morons. Hardly
any attempts have been made in India either to find out the
number of feeble-minded, or to group them according to any of
the criteria mentioned above, or to isolate them, or to locate
them, or to institutionalize them, or to provide for their training
and care with the result that the menace of the feeble-minded
is getting worse. The mentally defective constitute a large
proportion of the destitute, immoral, delinquent and criminal
population among the beggars, and transmit their defect to their
progeny. Yet our people seem to take no interest whatever
in the problems presented by our mental defectives. In fact,
most of them seem to be blissfully ignorant of the existence of
any such problem at all.

If our people are indifferent to and ignorant of the problems
of the feeble-minded beggars, they are still more apathetic to
and ignorant of the problems of those suffering from mental
disorders. Mental disorders such as maniac-depressive psychosis,,
involutional melancholia, dementia praecox, paranoia and the
like are hardly ever known or thought of. Any person behaving
queerly in the streets is considered insane and any manifestation
of any of the above-named disorders is attributed to " insanity ".
Many beggars with mental disorders are allowed to rot in the
streets and to lead an animaMike existence. Such a beggar
may sit in one place for days together urinating and defecating
in the self -same place, and he may be covered with lice, germs,
mosquitoes, flies and other vermin until some crow comes and
starts pecking all over him* Ibut no one takes $ny notice of him.

TYPES OF BEGGARS

Only when a beggar goes violently insane is he taken into custody
and brought to the mental hospital. It really is a sad commentary
on a nation that such a state of affairs should exist and such
revolting and sordid sights should be seen and tolerated.

The Diseased. Even more disgusting than the sight of the
mentally deranged beggar is that of the beggars suffering from
acute stages of venereal diseases, leprosy, epilepsy, T.B. and
skin diseases. What is most inconceivable is the fact that
hardly any attempt is made to segregate them, and they are
allowed to move freely in the streets, hotels and trains to beg,
no matter at what highly infectious stage the disease may be.
Sociologists in India often rave about the high rate of mortality,
but one wonders that there are not more deaths than at present
considering such unpardonably poor control of preventable
diseases. A great deal can be done if a nation-wide programme
of prevention and cure of such diseases were adopted, but there
is no education of public opinion in this direction and the diseased
beggar hardly ever has recourse to the hospital as even the disease
is exploited by the beggar as a means for getting alms from the
public.

The Able- Bodied. Much less nauseating but far more
exasperating is the able-bodied beggar. This type considers
begging its birth-right and bullies, harasses and troubles the
public into giving him alms. If a person happens to turn a
deaf ear or to remonstrate with him for not working even though
physically fit, he will turn round and use such abusive language
that the person retires within his shell and makes up his mind
never to address a beggar again. If offered a job he will flatly
explain that he is ancestrally a beggar and as he has never worked
in his life, his bones are stiffened and his constitution will not
allow him to work. If caught by the police and sent to a home
or work colony, he will abscond the very next day saying he has
never lived within walls and must roam freely in the open. He
thinks it is his ancestral birth-right to pester the public and
that no one has any authority to interfere with that right. No
amount of change in sociologic and economic viewpoint and
system will affect him as he simply refuses to work, however

OUR BEGGAR PROBLEM

attractive the wages and terms offered may be. Nor are
enactments adorning the statute book any good. What is needed
is a thorough and efficient machinery for the enforcement of
the legislation prohibiting begging and the following up of a
constructive programme after the arrests have been made.

The Religious Mendicant. In a country like India inhabited
by millions of Hindus and Mohamedans whose religions sanction
the founding of mendicant orders, the solution of the beggar
problem becomes well-nigh impossible. The beggar question
will never be finally and thoroughly solved till the religious
heads of these two great communities co-operate whole-heartedly
with the Government, the Municipality and the social work
agencies. So familiar is the figure of the Sanyasi, the Yogi,
the Sadhu, the Vairagi, the Fakir and the Darvesh in India with
all the paraphernalia of saffron robe, wood-bead-necklace, bowl
in hand, etc., that it hardly needs any elaboration.

The Bogus Religious Mendicant. Seeing the readiness and
almost spiritual devotion with which people dole out food, grains
and money to the genuine religious mendicant, many an able-
bodied layman who has no affiliation with any religious order
whatever but likes to get on without work dons the garb of a
Fakir or Sadhu and profits by the generosity of the unsuspecting
and religiously minded orthodox people. It is practically
impossible to distinguish between the genuine and the bogus since
indiscriminate charity encourages this type of beggars.

The Tribal Beggar. Far different from either the genuine
or bogus religious mendicant is the tribal beggar. These tribes
move about from place to place singing and reciting poems, and
begging ; and they are quite welcome in certain parts of India.
This type with its traditional songs and poems is unusually free
from the viciousness of the city beggar. They correspond more
or less to the minstrel and arc vastly different from the various
criminal tribes and gypsies who travel from one town to another
in caravans and who are notorious for begging, thieving and
dacoity. Very few places in India have criminal tribes settle*
ments ; and these beggars wander from province to province
establishing colonies and camps wherever they happen to halt

TYPES OF BEGGAKS

or settle temporarily. When they come to the large cities they
and their children live by begging and petty thefts. Some of
the men folk try and obtain casual work whenever they can.

Among this class of tribal beggars may also be included the
seasonal vagrant and the permanent vagrant. The seasonal
vagrants comprise those migratory casual labourers who work
on the fields or on some trade or craft in their native village
during the season and in the oil' season migrate to larger cities
where they live on foot-paths or open maidans, and maintain
themselves by begging or stealing. They seldom find work
and even if they do, they are incapable of sticking to one job
and before they get settled in one job, they migrate to another
place. The permanent vagrants are the migratory non -workers.
They are purposeless wanderers who beat their way from place
to place, begging for food, getting along in any way they can
and carefully avoiding rendering any useful service to the world.
They travel in tribal caravans and lead a carefree existence
sleeping wherever they can and eating whatever they get. Some
of them wander continuously, others only at particular times
or seasons and still others at irregular intervals, and whatever
be the difference in their modes of migration, they are all of
a class in that they are confirmed non-workers. In any scheme
of social reconstruction this type would be the most difficult to
tackle not only because of lack of fixed place of abode but also
because of the utter depravity to which this class has sunk.

The Employed Beggar. This may seem a contradiction in
terms, but in India there are a larger number of men and women
who work night shifts in mills and factories and go out begging
during the day. Very often they earn more by begging during
the day than by their labour in the factories and mills at night,
and therefore become irregular in their attendance at work.
The unsteady nature of the job and extremely poor wages
often serve as an inducement to begging. Thus we have the
curious phenomenon of the night labourer becoming a beggar
by day. They pretend to be crippled or deformed or besmear
their bodies with ashes and put on the religious mendicant's
robe and go about begging as though they belonged to the class

OUR BEGGAR PROBLEM

of professional beggars. Sometimes they are so skilled in the
art of deceiving the public that they outdo the professional
beggar and earn more than he does.

The Small Trade Beggar. This may sound even more
paradoxical than the last type, for it is hard to believe that
anyone engaged in trade, however petty it may be, should find it
necessary to beg. Yet it is strangely enough a fact that a number
of beggars have made enough money to open up small panbidi,
vegetable, flower, grams and pufted-rice shops as side business
along with their usual profession of begging. While some
members attend to the sales at the shops, others go out begging and
each responsible member takes his turn at the shop and at
begging by rotation. Perhaps there is no other country in the
world where begging has proved so profitable as in India. This
type of intelligent beggar makes use of his profits in carrying on
small trade as a side line arid making greater profits. But most
of the professional beggars beg only for begging's sake, and
through a peculiar psychological perversity hardly ever spend a
penny on themselves. They have never known what it is to buy
food or clothing. Both are procured through begging and every
pie is accumulated until their death. Thus, they lead a hand-to-
mouth, wretched, sordid existence in naked poverty and starva-
tion, and finally die leaving behind them thousands of rupees
to become Government property. With them begging is an
end in itself. It is not a means of bettering their condition or
standard of living as in the case of the employed and small-trade
beggar.

The Temporarily Unemployed but Employable Beggar. Many
woes of the working classes spring from irregularity of employ-
ment and from their failure in taking the necessary steps in
time to undo its ba9 effects. This causes their energy to become
intermittent ; their off-days become habitual, and in the wake of
indolence, intemperance springs up. Further, with uncertainty
of employment comes recklessness about their future. Irregula-
rity of employment, in its turn, is caused by fluctuations in
trade, or by the periodic nature of certain occupations, or by
illness, misfortune, or some exceptional incapacity. Intemperance

T5TPES OF BEGGARS

and indolence are also the causes of much that goes by the
name of want of work. These causes bring about distress among
the working people ; and when they do not get work in proper
time, gradually they lapse into habitual indigence which forces
them ultimately to have recourse to beggary. This type is
amenable to social adjustment, and if sent to the native place
and set to work on cottage industries at the time of temporary
unemployment, may be rescued from lapsing into indigence and
beggary. They may also be employed on agricultural projects,
road construction and the like as they would only too gladly
accept any employment.

The Temporarily Unemployed who are Unemployable. Unlike
the last mentioned type, this type has degenerated to the point
of becoming unemployable after a temporary period of unem-
ployment. The low wages, the unskilled nature of the work
and its growing irregularity unsettle habits of industry and
at last make the men unwilling to accept steady employment.
The conditions under which they live and work in industrial
towns and cities contribute their share towards the breakdown
of self-respect and personal pride. The overcrowding, lack of
privacy and absence of nearly all facilities for decent living
cannot help exercising a demoralizing influence. Their work
is hard, the hours are long and the bosses order them about
like so many dumb driven cattle. They then naturally are
not concerned about the quality of work done and drift off the
job. Gradually there is a decay of honest hard labour and the
labourer deteriorates into the regular professional beggar and
becomes unemployable.

The Somewhat Permanently Unemployed who are Employ able.
This class of unemployed are those who by reason of a change
in their trade or in the market, or for some other economic reason
find themselves threatened by unemployment, and yet are able
and willing to work. If adjustment is not made to some other
trade or job many belonging to this class generally become de-
moralised and degenerate into beggars. If provision for those
finding themselves threatened with permanent unemployment can
be made promptly and well, before habits of idleness and the

OUR BEGGAR PROBLEM

recklessness of discouragement have set in, the danger of breeding
confirmed indolence, hopeless apathy and progressive degeneracy
will often be safely averted.

The Permanently Unemployed and Unemployable. This class
of the unemployed is permanently out of work because, for one
reason or another, they are too inefficient to do any type of work.
In other words, to this class belong vagrants who are constantly
on the look out for opportunities of obtaining food and lodging
without giving work in return. Fceble-mindedness, mental
diseases and various personality disorders breed this type of
permanently unemployed and unemployable beggars. These
include degenerates with eccentricities, epileptics, hysterical
types, neurasthenics, persecuted and mystical types, those who
regard themselves as apostles and prophets, and those suffering
from schizophrenia, or drifting into senility. In a general way
these men might be termed weaklings who having no great
strength of character, lose their grip on life under the stress of
some temporary misfortune. Then having found how easy it
is to live without regular work, they lose what little ambition
they may have had and merge into the ranks of the unemployed
and unemployable.

The Permanently Unemployed who are Viciously and Incor-
rigibly Unwilling to work. To this type belong the idle and dis-
orderly persons, rogues and vagabonds. They comprise the semi-
criminal, vicious and confirmed idlers who habitually depend on
doles and charity, and finally become a danger to the whole
community. Hence the necessity of applying genuinely drastic
measures to keep them under control. They have reached the
lowest rung of the ladder of pauperism as the moral fibre of their
personalities has become rotten to the core. No social and eco-
nomic improvements, no establishment of labour colonies will
be of any avail in dealing with this type. The only probable
solution would be for the Government to establish Penal Labour
Colonies. This does not, by any manner of means, imply that
they should be treated like criminals. On the contrary, they
need the most sympathetic care and handling. The Penal
Colonies should be like psychiatric sanatoria where the treatment

o
O

TYPES OF BEGGARS

programme should include a balanced plan of work and healthy
recreation, and provide for reasonable opportunities for the
satisfaction of the most fundamental physical and psychological
human needs ; for, it is important never to lose sight of the fact
that these paupers, however hardened they may appear, are
essentially weaklings. Most of them have dwindled into their
present plight because they have not had the courage to face
and fight the hard battles of life. They have either fled from
certain crises in their lives, or because of some misfortune, become
hostile to society in general and adopted anti-social ways.

As stated above no attempt has been made to delve into
the nature, cause and development of the problem of begging ;
nor has any solution or constructive scheme for combating
the social ill been suggested except as it entered into the discussion
of the various types. Nor again, are all the numerous types of
beggars that exist in India analysed. Some of the principal
types with their sub-types are discussed with a view to acquaint
the social worker with the variety of types and with the hope
that in the attempt at solution of the beggar problem, a scientific
and intensive analysis of the various types will be undertaken ;
as no intelligent approach can be made to the problem without
a proper understanding of this very important aspect.

CAUSES OF BEGGARY

" By far the most frequent cause of beggary is the increas-
ing proportion by which workers displaced from the land can-
not find employment or subsistence," writes Dr. Radhakama)
Mukerjee. But in addition to this displaced worker, there are
the physically handicapped, the blind, the deaf-mutes, etc.,
who also take to begging. He, therefore, rightly demands
that k ' the root causes be analysed and understood, and that
society in India launch forth a programme of prevention rather
than amelioration of human inadequacy and suffering as a
national concern.*'

BEGGARY is a symptom of social disorganisation and the
widespread custom of alms-giving by individuals .and
institutions is the method by which the disability, help-
lessness or social inadequacy of the beggars has been Sought
tp be mitigated, in India. Yet this very time-honoured prac-
tjce of helping the homeless and the helpless has served society,
to wink at the grave personal and social maladjustments that
cause beggary. Modern conscience demands that the root causes
be t analysed and understood, and that society in India launch
forth a programme of. prevention rather than amelioration of
human inadequacy and, sull'ering as a national concern.

OUR BEGGAR PROBLEM

Obviously the most common cause of beggary in India is
the loss of agricultural employment in the villages. For several
decades the number of landless workers deprived of subsistence
from the land has been steadily rising. All landless individuals
cannot be absorbed in industrial employment. Driven from the
villages into cities and towns, some work as earth-diggers and
road-menders or as domestic servants and coolies in the market.
Others prefer beggary to work that often brings less income and
subsistence. For an Indian every profession or occupation,
high or low, develops its inchoate social organisation, resembling
some kind of a guild which gives protection to the new beggars,
whether able-bodied, disabled or diseased men, women or children.

It is the gang or guild life of the beggars in the big cities
and towns of India that makes easy the transition from inde-
pendent, though precarious, livelihood to pauperism in this
country. For the gang or the guild trains persons how and where
to beg, acts as a foster-parent to children that are deliberately
maimed in order to evoke sympathy of passers-by in the streets,
and, generally speaking, looks after their welfare. India has
had for centuries this shadowy organisation which has its Sirdars
or capitalists and a large number of intermediaries, the ramifica-
tions of whose business extend to distant villages and hamlets.
They arrange for beggars' accommodation in some slum or tene-
ment and advance them food, cash or dirty clothes from day to
day, their wage-earners bringing home every evening the hard
day's collection of alms from the different muhallas of the city,
so that they all have a share in the gains of this organised beg-
gary. It is an underworld about which educated India knows
little, a world in which there are cruel exploitation, poignant
tragedy and sometimes noble heroism.

By far the mbst frequent cause of beggary is the increasing
proportion by which workers displaced from the land cannot
find employment or subsistence. In Bihar alone there are 39.7
lakhs of agricultural workers, the number having increased by
19% between 1921 and 1931. These now constitute 19% of
the total agricultural population of the province. Similarly,
in the U. P, the agricultural labourers number about 34 lakhs,

CAUSES OF BEGGAEY

an increase of almost 10 lakhs since 1921. All these having
lost holdings cannot find a regular employment either in the
villages or in the cities and towns to which they migrate. Years
of drought or of high prices swell the number of those who starve
and beg for food first, it may be, in the villages or near-by towns
and then in the distant cities. Calcutta and Bombay are full
of migrant beggars. For the beggar often has a free journey
by train or steamer or earns as he proceeds by stages. India's
traditional method of charity which is enjoined by religion
keeps him both alive and mobile.

On the whole, throughout India, the number of beggars comes
to a considerable figure, about 14 lakhs, as counted in the census
of 1931, half of whom may be estimated to be able-bodied. Re-
cently due to the increase of population, as well as general
worsening of the economic situation, the number of beggars must
have considerably increased, while due to the latter cause the
wells of private charity are drying up. Though rich charitable
merchants, land-lords, and shopkeepers still set apart some
day or days in the week for alms-giving, an increasing proportion
of the beggars has, however, to depend for their food and succour
on dharmsalas, chowltrics, maqbaras and gurdwaras that still
continue to dispense alms and food. A greater proportion of
beggars now seen Hocking near the bazaars, important shops
and streets cannot obtain alms as adequately as before the present
economic stress. Yet they ply their trade of eliciting sympathy
from householders, shopkeepers and passers-by with a patience
born of long endurance and suffering that can be found only
among the paupers of the East.

The bulk of the people who are able-bodied and yet are
driven to alms-begging are the landless. But the great majority
of the beggars in the country are persons who have been disabled
by physical or mental deficiency. The blind persons number
in India 6,01,370 as compared with 1,14,000 in U.S.A. The blind
represent 172 per lakh of population in India as compared with
66 deaf mutes, 42 lepers and 34 insane. The deaf mutes number
on the whole 2,30,895 in India as compared with 57,084 in the
IJ.S.A. According to the census the lepers number 1,47,911.

OUR BEGGAR PROBLEM

But a more reliable estimate puts down the figure at, at least, a
million. The number of insane persons is 98,449. All these
are staggering figures given in the census of 1931. In the census
of 1941 the defectives have not been counted.

Most such defectives who live in the villages are sooner
or later reduced to beggary. The country's economic structure
is such that it cannot afford the surplus for maintaining the
helpless, nor are there social institutions for amelioration, treat-
ment and constructive work.

Few cities in India maintain statistics of beggars. In 1931
Bombay and Calcutta reported as having as many as 5,025 and
3,266 beggars respectively. Lucknow, we have estimated, has
about 2,000 beggars of whom the lepers alone account for 400.
A case study of beggars is necessary before we can definitely
analyse and classify the unfavourable economic and social situa-
tions that give rise to vagrancy and beggary.

Lucknow is the only city in British India that has made
beggary an offence punishable by detention in a Poor House
established by the Social Service League of the city and re-
cognised for the purpose of detention by its municipality. We
have been keeping records of the cases of beggars and truants
since the establishment of the Poor House in March, 1941. For
nearly 2 years the Poor House was the refuge of the homeless
and the helpless who came voluntarily for subsistence and medical
care. On 16th March 1943, the first arrests of beggars were
made in the city. There was also another round up in April. We,
therefore, have data in respect of both voluntary entry and
compulsory detention. Out of 38 inmates of the Poor House
before detention was enforced, 7 were able-bodied persons.
The majority of the inmates were disabled due to blindness,
disease, old age and accidents. Since the enforcement of the
Act, we have had in all 26 cases out of whom only 4 are able-
bodied. In^all Indian cities the proportion of able-bodied beg-
gars is of course very much larger. The reason for the small
number of able-bodied inmates in the Lucknow Poor House
is that the municipal announcement by beat of drum scared
and drove away a large number of beggars from the city,

CAUSES OF BEGGARY

especially the able-bodied ones. The majority of the present
inmates are blind, disabled, diseased and feeble-minded. As
many as 9 cases exhibit mental defect of some kind or other.
The percentage which is 34.5 is rather high and is a matter to
be pondered over.

Morons, sexual perverts and emotionally unstable and insane
persons form a high proportion of the beggar population in every
city in India. The callousness with which modern Indian cities
permit insane persons to go about naked and to feed on street
garbage is disgraceful. There are also the borderline cases of
half normal and half abnormal or subnormal individuals who
fail to obtain a satisfactory social adjustment. Some are ugly
looking or have suffered from hideous sores that have subjected
them to public teasing and bullying from childhood. Rebuffs have
driven such frustrated individuals to the underworld where they
obtain status. All such individuals show major emotional dis-
turbances that have made them misfits in their families and
social situations. Driven out of their old milieu, with its group
controls and standards, they drift into a happy-go-lucky, irres-
ponsible life in which work and begging interpolate, with the
latter -gradually gaining ascendancy. Some become addicts
to opium and cocaine in order to stabilize themselves in their
vagrancy ; others grow sentimental and accept new family
responsibilities even as beggars by becoming foster-parents to
children picked up from the slums where they live together.
All such psychopathic types of beggars demand sympathy,
scientific attention and institutional care.

Then there are the incurables, beggars suffering from diseases
that will kill them in the long run. Only a few cities in India,
like Calcutta and Bombay, have homes for the incurables. Most
Indian cities permit the incurables, who are either refused admis-
sion to a hospital or are expelled by it, to die on the streets like
dogs. The incurables form not a negligible proportion of the
beggar population in every town who drag on a life of agony
and disseminate disease.

Among the beggar inmates it is found that the blind frater-
nize, aiding one another in their daily rounds and pooling their

OUR BEGGAR PROBLEM

resources. I have also found the blind marrying each other
and their daughter who is feeble-minded being again married
to a blind person. This perpetuates beggary as a profession.
An old blind woman's daughter who earns as a maid servant
in some one's household and wears a silver neck-piece appeared
before the Revision Board for release of her mother, promising
us that she would be supported by her work and not beg. Thus
the Lucknow Act has served to restore family affection and unity
even among the submerged classes. Family breakdown or
quarrel among the parents has led to the truancy of boys some
of whom have become our inmates. Desertion by the husband
is also a cause of beggary of women when immorality fails to
give them subsistence. Many beggars are engaged in petty
theft or an a nefarious traffic in girls. Some inmates have on
medical examination been found to suffer from venereal diseases.
Among the -beggars who have been arrested, we have found that
their earnings average only 4 as. per diem. The largest amount
found in possession with them is Rs. 2-14-0. Thus the city of
Lucknow was spending on an average Rs. 500/- a day for the
support of its beggar population. One of them is an opium
addict for whom the Poor House has to provide every day.

The most difficult of the beggar cases are, of course, the
lepers. Leprosy, with its accompanying disablement, disfigure-
ment and .social opprobrium, is one of the principal causes .of
beggary in India and is at the same time the most difficult to
handle. Many lepers roam about markets, cinemas and theatres
infecting innocent passers-by. Others are burnt-out, but it is
.both risky .and unpopular to keep the leper-beggars in the same
house of detention. The Lucknow Poor House is taking steps
*Q provide special accommodation for them.

There is another class of beggars upon whom beggary is
enforced. These are orphans and waifs and strays who are
ometimes deliberately maimed or disfigured in order that their
guardians, the beggars, may earn their living. In the world
of beggars children are mortgaged and sold in broad day-light.
The more feorrid and the more pathetic looking the child, the
greater is its price. And if it fails to attract the passers-by

CAUSES OF BEGGARY

by its piteous cries it is tortured into more successful imploring
and begging by their step-parents. Many normal parents also
trade on their children's natural infirmities using these as sources
of supplementary income. And who would take to beggary
as the normal occupation with greater ease and alacrity than
the children of the beggars, normal and bright or hereditarily
tainted, diseased and stunted specimens of humanity ? Nothing
short of a Children's Act can protect such children and remove
them from the streets. Finally, there are the religious beggars
whose numbers are legion and who would yet for some time
defy detention or institutional care and treatment.

As there are different causes and situations of beggary, the
institutional treatment has to be adjusted to the different cate-
gories of beggars. Thus the Poor House of a big city should
have an Infirmary for the decrepit, disabled and diseased and
others suffering from non-infectious diseases. It should have
a section for lepers and other beggars suffering from infectious
or contagious diseases. It should also have a department for
the child beggars who must be taught to read arid write and
become self-supporting. And finally, there should be a work-
house or an agricultural colony for the able-bodied ne'er-do-wells
who live by lying and black-mailing, whose example discourages
all poor honest workers and who must be taught a new dignity
and means of livelihood.

* Unremunerative agriculture, poverty, unemployment and
disruption of joint family and of caste control are the major
causes of increase of beggary in India. India neglects 6,00,000
of her blind, 2,50,000 of her deaf and dumb, 1, 00,000 W her insane
and 10,00,000 of her lepers j At the same time she permits
them to multiply without any law of sterilization of the here-
ditarily unfit and tainted.] Private charity can no longer be
left to deal spasmodically and without understanding the colossal
problems of the homeless, the helpless and the hopeless in society.
Nor should the State be chary today in accepting the obligations
of social service through its own departments. For spontaneous
private charity and compassion which the ancient religion and
social code inculcate can no longer be relied upon for grappling

OUR BEGGAR PROBLEM

with a mass phenomenon. Nor can the individual undertake
to accomplish what institutions alone can do in respect of both
amelioration and prevention of human inadequacy and suffering.
To neglect the calls of organised philanthropy and institutional
treatment is to make human life which is already so cheap in
India yet cheaper, so that it will spill more lavishly and destruc-
tively on all sides, transforming the Indian town-dweller into a
more hard-hearted and cynical creature than he is today.

MENTAL TRAITS OF BEGGARS

In this chapter Dr. Sen Gupta analyses the psychological
make-up of the beggar-personality, and deals with the various
techniques and motivations behind the begging appeal. He
maintains that the three basic tendencies that go to mould the
beggar personalify are masochism, a dependent attitude and
persistence of certain childhood tendencies. The writer con-
cludes that these factors and the fact that the beggar's atten-
tion is bound to be unstable under the double stress of variable
emotion and the ever-variable association render the beggar-
personality unstable for any kind of adaptation, social and
economic.

THE Begging Appeal. The beggar banks upon the sentiments
inherent in human nature. He subsists in an organised
economic society inasmuch as his appeals elicit a sympa-
thetic response from his felJowmen. Such sympathy, however,
does not always rest on the other regarding propensities of which
the moral philosopher speaks. The beggar's appeal often compels
response mainly through its action on one or the other of the
basic self- regard ing motives. It succeeds for the reason that
man proposes to purchase virtue and spiritual reward, Punya,
in exchange for a few coppers. Many believe that even the

OUR BEGGAR PROBLEM

good things of earthly life may be secured through the grace
of God granted to those who render aid to the " down and out ".
Even a casual observation of the plaintive appeal that beggars
send forth would bear out the truth of these propositions.

It is, however, true that the beggar often appeals directly
to man's compassion, to his * tender emotions ' and to his sense
of protectiveness. The cultivation of such sentiments has been
approved by almost all classes of religion. The subjective pro-
cesses that the begging appeal elicits are thus sanctified by reli-
gious doctrine and moral code. But behind all of these is the
motive of securing social health, the impulse of the individual
to cover up the ugly sore that social and perhaps biological
maladjustment produce.

The beggar thus attempts to touch the personality at all
its vulnerable points. He appeals to your religious sentiments,
to your sense of dependence on Divine grace when he shouts
44 May God give you happiness " (Tumko parmatma sukhi
rakhey, baba) ; he appeals to you as a parent when he blesses
your children (Tumhara bal bachcha sukhi rahey) ; he appeals
to your sense of greed when untold wealth arid even a kingdom
is promised to you in exchange for a pice, and seeks your pro-
tection for himself and his starving family ; and finally he tells
you of his illness, hard luck, bereavement and utter destitution.
The begging appeal traverses the entire region of motives from
the lofty theological sentiments to contemptuous pity of the
superior for the inferior, from greed for spiritual bliss to greed
for material and social success, from love of one's own children
to the desire for avoidance of an ugly sight. Success of beggary,
therefore, presupposes a high degree of emotional naivete and
some surplus cash among people in general. It presupposes
several other motives a desire to avoid the sight of pain and
suffering, a belief in sympathetic magic, a desire to get something
at a low cost and a sense of superiority. A simple question
A Why do you give money to a street beggar ? ' brought out the
following replies ;

MENTAL TRAITS OP BEGGARS

No. of

Answers. persons.

I may be in the same position ... ... ... 8

I feel distressed ... ... ... ... 5

They deserve something for their good wishes ... 2

Somebody must look after them ... ... 6

It is enjoined by religion ... ... ... 1

One must look beyond one's own needs ... ... 2

I felt like giving something ... ... ... 1

No particular reason ... ... ... ... 1

Total 26

The Psycho-physical Technique of the Appeal.- An attempt to
beg in order to be effective, must (1) attract attention, (2) appeal
to emotion, (3) impress the need of the beggar upon the mind
of his patrons. The beggar utilises three types of technique
in his appeals. I shall describe these under three headings :
the variable technique, the stereotypes and the situation.

The Variable Techniques. The meaning conveyed by begging
appeal may be rendered more effective with the aid of certain
subsidiary factors. The same hard-luck tale brings more coppers
when it is associated with occasional sobs and sighs than when
it is a continuous whine. The successful beggar must be a good
actor ; he must vary his speech and demeanour with the normal
procession of changes that characterise mental life. Thus
intonation, facial expressions and general bodily posture must
undergo alteration as they do for people in grief and agony.
These transform the meaning that the beggar seeks to convey
in his appeal and render the latter pointedly personal to each
passer-by just as the actor makes the members of his audience
feel that his elocution carries a personal message to each. A
turning of the eyes, a slight shift in posture, slight rise and fall
of pitch of the voice and the lines of long-dead Shakespeare
come to life.

The Stereotypes. The same thing is true of begging appeals.
The old tales heard in childhood, the precepts transmitted from

OUE BEGGAR PROBLEM

the early days of society, the myths of fairies, gods and demons
that assume queer human shapes all stir in our breast when
we listen and yield to the beggar's plaintive wails. The actor
fails when his voice gives an impression of hard memory-work ;
the beggar fails when he takes recourse to stereotypes of voice
and intonation, of gesture and facial contortions, of bodily
posture and movement.

There is always a temptation for the beggar to take to stereo-
types. Lodged on the wayside the beggar sees the stream of
humanity pass by in a never-ending succession. He scans
a face here and there only to meet with a blank look of dismal
unconcern. He does not wish them to return ; each face passes
on even as the wavelets in the stream pass on never to return.
It is not necessary for the beggar, therefore, to try to variegate
his voice and gesture ; they fall on new ears, new eyes and new
minds. To render the begging appeal into stereotypes is to
economise energy. I purchased for a two-anna piece the con-
fidence of a familiar figure on the Lucknow foot-path : " Who
cares for how we ask! You, the lucky ones, don't give us money
because you feel for us. You give us a pice or two because God
prompts you and because you don't miss what you give ". A
strain of disdainful fatalism may be discerned almost directly
behind the voice that begs.

The Situation. Yet the beggar is not slow to seize upon
special occasions and geographical situations. Once I followed
a particular beggar from temple to temple at Benares. He
was never loth to sing to the praise of the presiding deity. The
same person who seemed to be a devout Vaishnava in front of one^
temple was transformed into a Shdkta before another. One other
qmbarrassing trick, of some of the knights of the begging bowl
is to pose as victims of starvation and disease just in front of
sweet-meat shops and small hotels. Those who feel the gnawing
of hunger are bound to relent to others from sheer fellow-feeling.
One of these persons could form almost a bowl of his belly stopping;
down and making an arch of the entire abdominal cavity. This
was intended to show that his system was entirely empty of
food. A rapid flow of words, a keen perception of the situation,

MENTAL TRAITS OF BEGGARS

certain forms of physical posture, like the one described above,
and also certain common yogic postures make specialists of com-
mon beggars. Skill in the use of the psycho-physical techniques
of intonation and pitch variation, emotional expressions, facial
contortions, bodily postures, the ability to match the flow of
words with situations, and finally, quickness in the perception
of the possibilities of an environment enter into calculation
in making a success of begging.

The Personality of City Beggars. The personality of the
beggar, his temper, outlook and technique change from place
to place. The city beggar has his own beat, own clients and
probably a 1 so his house. He solicits a variety of patrons and
must win success in keen competition. He must, therefore,
be a person of somewhat higher intellectual powers. He must
be able to direct all the weapons in his armoury to the vulnerable
spots of his patron's personality. For instance, a beggar at a
religious centre or on religious occasions must be able to give
a religious touch to his garb and his ideology. He must also
stress the relation between giving charity and the particular
religious festival. I have heard beggars make references to
obscure incidents mentioned in the Pur anas in order to stress
the value of charity on the particular occasion. Another festival,
another scene and an entirely new personality emerges.

There are Certain places which through tradition have bred
a specific type of beggar-personality. I have particularly ill
my mind'the district of Nadia, near the place where Chaitanya
Deva was born, which naturally perpetuates the tradition of
beggary as a road to holiness. The beggars of the district are
thus the most impertinent in the whole of Northern India. They
are aggressive and often assume a threatening attitude on meeting
with refusal.

These descriptions are intended to show that the outward
forms of the beggar-personality carry the impress of the city
and the village, of traditions and economic settings of life. These
are surface-characters that appear on the background of a durable
personality-type the nature of which I propose to consider here.
We have seen 4n the preceding sections that there is one or the

OUR BEGGAR PROBLEM

other of the five principal motifs in the begging appeals, namely*
(1) Religious sanctification, (2) Puny a or moral merit-making
for better fate in the next worjd, (3) Blessings in the present life,
(4) Compassion and (5) Personal responsibility for making
provision for the helpless. These motives are combined into
various forms of appeal which beggar personalities of different
types employ. We shall describe these personalities as A, B, C ?
1) and E type.

To the A-type belongs the personality of the religious
mendicant who stresses the giving of alms as a religious duty.
The beggar is doing you a favour by giving you an opportunity
of doing your duty. He is not asking a favour of you. This
motive is usually strengthened by a promise of blessings that
your act of charity will secure for you even in your present life.
It makes for a personality characterised by both intelligence
and vigour.

To the T^-type belong those who stress mainly the promise
of earthly gains and moral merit in the next world in exchange
for charity. The personality is characterised by intelligence,
though apologetic in its general tone.

The C-type of personality employs the technique of the
B-type but it stresses the factor of compassion. It appeals to
the softer side of your nature, to your sympathy and protective*
ness. It presents the profile of a helpless and yet clever
personality.

The D-type appeals to compassion and expresses its utter
dependence upon you for provision. It seemingly shows a picture
of helplessness, utter misery due to poverty, starvation and
disease. The feeling of utter dependence marks it out from the
two preceding types.

The E-type is a personality which is actually helpless, the
cripple, the blind, the paralysed and the leper. People in this
group sometimes mumble out their appeal. More often they
are silent. The physical picture is enough to convince anyone
of their needs. They are often used by cleverer persons for
collecting charities very little of which is used for the maintenance
of these unfortunates. All of these types are found in a

MENTAL TRAITS OF BEGGARS

flourishing city and require different types of treatment and
social provision.

The Psychological Make-up of City Beggars. We have
attempted, in the previous part of our discussion, to derive the
general conception of the beggar-personality from the appeals
that are made and from the nature of the motives that the
supplicant attempts to stimulate in his patron. It is also
possible to deduce certain conclusions in regard to the basic
mental constitution of these individuals. The more solvent
members of beggars' profession possess certain characters in
common with the confidence-trick men and actors. The more
intelligent persons stand in fact midway between these two classes
with respect to their mental constitution.

Seen from the perspective of psychology many of the beggars
are quick-change artists. Their voices change from a high
pitched moan to almost a whining sigh ; their ideas change from
heavenly bliss which they offer you to thoughts of a few coppers
which they are willing to receive ; and their sentiments descend
from the altitude of high benediction to low-level supplication.
These are signs of great plasticity of emotions, of a large rangr,
within which they may change in quality and intensity alike.
Such emotional fluctuation in its turn is bound to influence
the course of ideas. For, each emotional set releases attitudes
and ideas of a particular order.

It is not surprising to find, therefore, that beggars of the upper
class can react to each occasion and even each group of persons
with a specified set of ideas. For each external environment
appeals primarily to the emotional instinctive side and the
emotional set, and brings the relevant word-associations toi bear
upon the situation. This phenomenon is sometimes, appraised
as intelligence ; in reality it exhibits merely a highly developed
capacity of association. It represents the character of the 4 con '
man, the demagogue and the upper class beggar. . I hadi an
opportunity to test the capacity of association of a boy of 17
who is an intelligent-looking youngster living mainly by beggary
in the bazaar. The following results were obtained when certain
situations were suggested. The number of associations .is

OUR BEGGAR PROBLEM

compared to those of an average High School boy of the same
age-group. The beggar is called A and the school boy B. Time
given was 3 minutes for each item :

Imaginary
situation ...

Abstract
virtues

Emotion-
ally toned

Entreaties
and
supplica-

Abstract
virtues

Emotion-
ally toned

Entreaties
and
supplica-

wojds

tion

i words

tion

Before a temple

Bathing ghat ...

11 6(?)

2 3

Bazaar

8 !

Before a house

of festivity ...

Each imaginary situation was suggested and the boys, one
after the other, were asked to beg a few coppers of imaginary
patrons wishing them well, appealing to their pity and addressing-
words of entreaty and supplication. The beggar beat the school
boy hollow as he was used to this art, while the school boy was
merely straining his imagination.

A similar phenomenon was observed in the case of three
beggar boys who beg on the public thoroughfare of a large city.
Each was promised that twice the amount found on each would
be given if they participated in a * game ', Each taken apart
from the other was asked to whine out his appeal which was
all tlue time being taken down* Roughly speaking, the boy
who had. earned most was found to be able to give a much longer
chain of word-associations before he stopped for breath. I am
also of opinion that the successful beggar exhibits a maximal
degree of expressive changes, facial and gestural, in the course
of begging. This would be in consonance with the hypothesis
that -at the root of successful begging lies a highly plastic emo-
tiorml temperament. Emotion prompts ideas on the one hand,
and the expressive changes on the other. This would also be
in keeping with the view that the beggar in his mental make-up

r TRAITS OF BEGGARS

is an adept at impersonation. He can vary his emotional set
of words and expressions to suit the changing external conditions,
and can lend shape to his thoughts in long chains of associations
and to his passing sentiments in the expressive changes.

We may deduce from the analysis that the beggar possesses
a certain degree of intelligence which expresses itself in associa-
tion. He does not show a capacity of abstract reasoning nor of
thinking out problems but of sizing up a situation in terms of
a chain of past experiences. We may say that the beggar, in
this sense, exhibits an order of intelligence which is slowly but
surely superseded by growth, culture, social life and economic
adjustment.

We may also conclude that the beggar exhibits a certain
deficiency in durable emotional-ideation al-motor orientation to
the situations that daily life precipitates. Our mind lays its
firm grasp on a situation when emotions, ideas and action -attitudes
arc all directed to it. The passing scenes are thus ' fixed ' like
a photographic print for present and future use. If emotions
by shifting the ideas and action-attitudes fail in their grasp,
perceptions do not leave a precipitate for future use. -The
normal co-ordination of emotions, ideas and action does not endure
largely because of a high degree of plasticity of emotions. Such
want of co-ordination again drags down the personality below
the level at which adjustment may be effective.

It is possible to think of several steps below the plane at
which social and economic failure occurs. The initiative exhibited
by the more successful beggar may diminish ; the appeals, their
expressions in words and gesture, may become stereotyped. The
words may eternally repeat themselves, throwing the beggar's
mind into a haze and rendering his picturesque language into
a sorry drone. People cease to note and fewer coppers are
thrown into the bowl. We can further think of the beggar as
a whining machine which is no longer capable of soliciting favours.
People give only for avoiding irritation and unpleasantness.
The lesser the mental plasticity and variability of behaviour,
the lower is the income from begging. Mental plasticity,
variability of behaviour, and at the same time the development

OUE BEGGAR PROBLEM

of certain durable patterns of behaviour, indicate successful
adjustment and intelligence. The low-grade beggar represents a
failure in both of these directions.

Evaluation of the Mental Status. It is a persistent belief
in the mind of virtuous people that confirmed beggars may be
reclaimed for normal economic life. The idea is false in a great
number of cases. The beggar, as we have seen, most often
possesses an order of intelligence that expresses itself in the
form of association. The processes of thinking cannot cut
through the wall of associative experience and its verbal expres-
sion. Whatever alters the course of association also modifies
the course of thinking. The driving power behind a chain of
association, as the free association method of the psycho-analyst
has shown, is emotion. Hence, the intellectual life of a beggar
is a weather-cock driven by emotion.

The beggar, however, cultivates a whole series of emotions
each quality playing its brief role and ushering in a new chain
of ideas. Hence, attention is bound to be unstable under the
double stress of variable emotion and the ever- variable associa-
tion. These factors render the personality unstable for any
kind of durable adaptation, social and economic. Underlying
these and imparting the particular shape that the beggar-
personality assumes, are three deep and basic tendencies, namely r
masochism, a dependent attitude and persistence of certain childhood
tendencies. I shall briefly consider each of these.

Masochism is the trait that makes it pleasurable for a person
to suffer a certain degree of physical pain. The definition may
sound like a paradox but it represents nevertheless a fundamental
trait of the self. We are all more or less sadists and masochists.
The border line of normal life is crossed when the balance of the
two is disturbed and one predominates to an unusual degree.
The perpetual hard-luck story, the whine and the sob which
constitute the stock-in-trade of the beggar are expressions of
deep-lying masochism. A true sadist would not be a beggar;
he would be a robber if physically competent, . The persistence
in the profession so humiliating is often due to an enduring and
dominant masochistic strain.

MENTAL TRAITS OF BEGGARS

Secondly, there are certain persons who are always dependent
on some one else. It may, perhaps, be due to the manner of
bringing up of the child or due to the social status of the family.
It may be, in other words, an induced character. So far as the
individual is concerned the trait is durable. Such sense of
dependence translates men into perpetual dependents and
therefore into beggars. The experiment has yet to be tried
whether the child beggar could be purged of his sense of depend*
ence. But if we cannot remove the other traits that go to build
up the beggar-personality we may change him into a thief or a
robber. The experiment, however, is worth trying.

The third factor that weaves all mental functions into the
beggar-personality is the persistence of childhood traits. This
may be due to the manner of bringing up, early illness or a
permanent disability. It keeps one part of the mind perma-
nently on the childhood level. That is why the beggar always
assumes in his appeals the attitude and terminology, and at time
even the lisping of the child. I have observed in Lucknow at least
six clear instances of such lisping. This part of the mind that
forgets to grow up keeps the adult tied to the apron-strings of
an imaginary parent. The appeal that the beggar sends forth
is always to this parent-personality which is invested in whoever
may come to assistance.

The beggar-personality is thus born of certain persistent
mental factors. These twist all the mental functions into a new
type of personality a personality that finds pleasure in pain
is always dependent and childlike. Naturally enough it would
fail in economic adjustment from the very beginning. Absence
of institutions that may correct these disorders accentuates
these weaknesses. The individual gradually turns into a
sub-economic and sub-social creature.

General Conclusion. Biologists speak of vestigeal remains
that hark back to the remote past. The appendix is normally
harmless ; it may, however, assume a pathological form. The
beggar represents vestigeal remains of the social past. He
carries his intelligence very often to the plane in which men had
to recall the entire past through association in order to discover

OUR BEGGAB

a Jittle hint for new, adaptation. The tendeney appears in
childhood where thought pursues the tortuous route of associative
connections. It appears again in dotage when men bore their
feljow-beings with long drawn out tales of other days. Several
of the primitive peoples are said to dwell on this mental plane.
The l)cggar seems to represent a case of mental atavism ; his
is a personality that fits in better with the less differentiated tribal
scheme in which all may claim a share for sustenance.

The beggar is a throw-back to childhood in his sense of
dependence and in his child-parent attitude towards his patrons ;
he thinks like a child and feels like a child. He often employs
all the obvious tricks of the child bent on getting something
out, of the parent. He represents an immature personality also
in his sentiments. He is emotionally naive and labours under
the delusion that his own subjective states must necessarily
infect others. He has stopped short in the process of mental
growth.

The beggar represents the persistence of childhood trends
in another respect. He has a profound belief in sympathetic
magic. He believes that his curses and blessings must in the
long run prove effective. This is not a pose. I have h^d
conversation with more than a dozen of beggars on this point.
They believe sincerely in the idea. This again represents a
mental throw-back. The beggar iu the matter of his social
adaptation represents an early social order. He belongs to tfae
community and comes forward wherever there is a gathering of
the community ; he has an imperfectly developed sense of Self-
hood. The response made by his fellow-beings also represents
certain native mental attitudes, the attitude of the benevolent
father, the sentiment of the mother towards a child that persists
in its demands, the attitude of the strong towards the weak.

These sentiments and outlooks yield personal satisfaction.
Do they solve the beggar problem? It is necessary to recl^npi
the child beggar so that he outgrows the mental plane that ties
him to the city bazaar and pavement. It is necessary to recjpira
tjie adult from exhibiting his sense of dependence and his
masochism. The task of society does not end in offering the

MENTAL TRAITS OF BEGGARS

needed relief alone. It must prevent the mental infection from
spreading and affecting the growing children and the borderland
personality. For nothing spreads so insidiously as mental
infection conveyed by words and gestures. The end may be
achieved only by a provision of institutions that offer to the
beggar the environment that he needs and the treatment that may
keep both him and society in healthy isolation from each other.

BEGGARS A MENACE TO PUBLIC HEALTH

Dr. B. C. Das Gupta deals with the main types of diseased
beggars and shows how they serve as foci of infection to those
that come close enough for contact. This social evil, he fears,
has assumed epidemic proportions in some places from the
public health point of view. In a thought-provoking manner
he traces, though briefly, the main features of the beggar pro-
blem as bearing on public health.

IN big cities, at fairs and festivals in India, where large
congregations of people occur, nay, even in some villages, it
is a common sight to notice armies of beggars and loafers
of all ages and sexes seeking alms and charities from people.
Begging is not always a question of poverty nor is it altogether
a matter of a lucrative and easy-going profession resorted to
by malingerers and able-bodied but lazy men and women. It
constitutes a very complex social problem at the root of which
can be traced a multitude of causes that conspire to produce this
remarkable individual " the Beggar ". It is also intimately
related with other social probkms such as intemperance, un-
employment, poverty, crippling diseases, leprosy, lack of provi-
sion for old age, etc., so that its solution requires a good deal of
thought and care on the part of the social students and reformers.

OUB BEGGAR PROBLEM

Furthermore, in a country like ours, where religions sanction the
formation of mendicant orders and also prescribe charity and
sympathy for mankind for one's own elevation, the problem ol
beggary assumes greater complications.

Sentiments of charity are not, however, peculiar to India
alone. In the Western countries too it has been urged by eminent
writers that in giving alms enquiry as to the necessity of the
person helped should not enter into one's mind. God does not
look so much upon the merits of the man who requires the help
as into the manner of him that gives, and if the man does not
deserve it, the gift has been made to humanity. Again, another
eminent English author advises that if an outwardly and visibly
poor creature comes to you for alms do not stay to enquire if
the facts of the case are true, if those in whose name he implores
the help have a real existence or not. It is good to believe him.
Shakespeare, the immortal poet, has sung of mercy in a tone
of matchless beauty in the English language ;

u The quality of mercy is not strained ;
It droppeth like gentle rain from Heaven ;
It is twice blessed :
It blesseth him that gives and him that takes."

Thus at all times in human history the sentiment of sympathy
and charity has played a prominent part in the social composition
of both the individual and the community alike. Even so it is
today. Whether in all instances it fct blesseth him that gives
and him that takes ", man has not bothered to pause and ponder.
Hence, much of the beggar problem that subsists on such senti-
ments continues to exist and thrive.

Whether the root cause is economic, social or religious, or
a combination of all of them it is not our object here to
discuss. Neither is it our purpose to assess their proportionate
importance in the creation of the problem,. The immediate
object is to view this social evil which in some places, it is feared,
has assumed epidemic proportions from the public health point
of view. But in all investigations of health problems the causative
factors and their peculiarities determine to a great extent the

BEGGARS-^-A MENACE TO PUBLIC HEALTH

magnitude, the possibilities of their growth and expansion and
finally the lines of prevention. Therefore, in discussing the
epidemiology of the beggar problem if I may coin the phrase-
it is but necessary that we should touch, though lightly, upon the
types of beggars and their pathogenesis and then consider their
full bearing and effects upon the public health of the country.

The beggars met with in cities or in pilgrim centres may be
classified mainly under the following heads: (1) The destitute,
(2) the homeless aged, (8) the crippled, the maimed, the blind,
etc., (4) religious mendicants, (5) the lepers and the diseased
persons suffering from infectious diseases, with sores and ulcers-
covered with plasters on which myriads of flies settle -and feed,
(6) children trained by organised bodies or by unscrupulous
parents into the profession of begging, (7) able-bodied but lazy
people who roam about in the cities, beg by day, and turn into
thieves and robbers by night and become a menace to society,
and finally, (8) professional orphans.

It is not possible to go into the question of determining the
extent to which each of the above categories constitutes a definite
menace to the public health of the locality where it is found. It
can be stated without fear of contradiction that one of the main
reasons why these beggars appear intolerable and obnoxious is
that they are a serious nuisance to the people whom they pester
with persistence for alms in the streets, at the railway stations
and at all places where people collect.

It is undoubtedly annoying to be bothered by beggars when
you are in a hurry to catch a train, tram or bus, when your mind
is occupied with serious matters of business or work, to be followed
for miles by urchins with dirty bodies and clothes when you are
out for a walk in fresh air. If this aspect of the beggar problem
could be mitigated, if begging in public streets could be reduced,
the nuisance, even though it would remain in its fundamental
aspects, would not be so intolerable.

As mentioned above the beggar nuisance is more localised
in big cities, in railway stations and in the pilgrim centres. It
is not uncommon to find, especially when travelling in the third
class railway compartments, beggars with loathsome deformities

OUR BEGGAR PROBLEM

and infectious diseases crawling out of the space below the seats
when the train is in motion and all the danger of being put out
is over. They travel without tickets by night and hide themselves
when the train halts at big stations lest they be found out by
the checkers and forced out of the compartment. Sometimes
even when detected, the usual sympathy of the checker and
also of some passengers stands him in good stead and the journey
is continued without trouble. In most instances of beggars
with loathsome diseases, this is the usual way they enter into
a city, where for want of adequate law or lax working of it such
as it exists, they settle down in this profession of begging with
impunity. The larger the city and the population, and more
numerous the industries, the larger will be the strength of
beggars.

Let us now consider the problem of beggars as a whole and
see in what manner they form a menace to the public health of
the locality.

The majority of beggars live on slender means, and more
often are without a home. The foot-paths of the city of Bombay
will bear witness to this fact. A considerable amount of over-
crowding in rooms in certain sections of the city is due to a large
number of beggars sharing one room just for the shelter at night,
particularly in the monsoon. When foot-paths and open spaces
serve as shelters and sleeping places, th filthy condition created
through absence of sanitary facilities can be better imagined
than described. Diseases of the intestines become rampant
and they spread without check to others in the same locality
through flies. In spite of the fact that many of them live in
open air, if a random survey were made of the beggars of all
ages, it would not be surprising if a large percentage were found
suffering from all stages of tuberculosis due to malnutrition and
insanitary living conditions. These beggars in turn become
definite mobile sources of tuberculosis in the city and disseminate
the disease by indiscriminate spitting. Unlike an ordinary
house-holder, they do not seek hospital treatment as confine-
ment in an institution for any length of time would deprive them
of the freedom of the trade. Moreover, the possibility of invoking

BEGGARS A MENACE TO PUBLIC HEALTH

charitable consideration on the strength of such physical illness
is greater and hence the usual tendency on their part to make use
of the chronic illness for securing larger alms. While this goes
on, the danger to the public increases every day. Overcrowding,
be it on foot-paths or in sheltered houses, leads to the spreading
of various infections and often to low moral life ending in venereal
diseases. Not infrequently eases come to the city-clinics for
treatment of venereal diseases contacted from the professional
beggars. This particularly applies to the able-bodied beggars
who have not the remotest excuse for begging.

It is a common experience of the city health authorities to
find epidemic diseases among the road-side cases who, till they
are removed to hospital, serve as foci of infection to those that
come close enough for contact. In the early stage of some
diseases, when the signs are not too obvious on him and the
beggar is on his feet plying his trade, he is a veritable source of
infection to those whom he approaches for alms. Cases of
measles, chicken-pox, and small-pox have often occurred in
this manner.

I have already referred to the travel of diseased beggars
by railroad. Infection from such beggars may not only spread
to the fellow-passengers, but the possibilities of infection being
imported from one locality into another through them, are great.
These beggars acquire an infection at a fair or pilgrim centre
and transmit it to a fresh locality hitherto untouched by the
disease.

Old age is not an unmitigated blessing, but often from the
point of view of the community, a serious social question. If
there is no community programme aiming at safeguarding and
protecting old age, it may lead to begging, examples of which
are quite common in the cities. Although old age in beggars
by itself constitutes no danger, this is a period of life when diseases
of public health importance get a strong foot-hold in the individual
and thus assume serious proportions. Cancer is a disease of
old age and not infrequently one comes across beggars with can-
cerous ulcers and sores seated in a crowded place imploring sAm*
from passers-by. In a like manner, infective sores and ulcers.

OUR BEGGAR PROBLEM

an exhibition of which ip often made in the hope of exciting sympa-
thetic response from the public, are. apart from the question
of their disgusting sight, definitely risky to public health. Aside
from the danger of infection the sight of these loathsome diseases
often produces a definitely detrimental psychic effect upon the
mind and not infrequently causes neurosis and anorexia.

I have already referred to the insanitary living conditions
of the beggars in general. Insanitary condii ions lead to verminous
state and ailments such as scabies, lousiness, relapsing fevers
amongst the beggars, particularly in beggar children. In these
days of war and rapid communications with different parts of
the world, lousiness may lead to a very serious disease called
typhus. When these beggars keep pestering the public for
gifts and alms the danger of such infection being communicated
to the public a cruel return for the kindness shown -is indeed
great. Owing to insanitary conditions and habits of living, the
gypsies and other nomadic tribes that often come in numbers
to the cities for the greater part of the year and live by begging
form endemic foci of diseases and sources of danger to the locality
where they settle down in large colonies.

Lepers whom the public loathe the most to see in streets
and at street-corners, form into groups of beggars. They throng
in numbers in all seasons and at all crowded places. They
form a problem by themselves, bpth from the point of view of
health and of the profession of begging. I shall refer to them
separately later.

The crippled, the maimed and the blind are a class of beggars
who have no special public health significance, excepting a general
nuisance owing to their insanitary conditions and habits of living ;
they cannot be called dangerous, in this connection, it may
not be out of place to mention the acts of cruelty often perpetrated
on children brought up by organised begging. These children
are rendered blind by application of drugs and intentional injury
to the eye so as to be a richer source of income to their masters.
In a like manner, the crippled children arouse greater sympathy
and cases are reported where children have been crippled inten-
tionally by injury to their bones for this purpose.

BEGGARS A MENACE TO PUBLIC HEALTH

There is another category of beggars who owing to congenital
defects are mentally deficient and destitute. They present among
others a problem of special public health significance. In many
instances these poor creatures are used for purposes of immorality
and sexual perversions. In the case of a normal child-beggar
sexual perversion is sometimes committed under duress and at
other times as willing partners. In the case of the mentally
deficient, the practice of men and women frequenting institutions
endangering child morals, is to make use of the young boys
and girls for the furtherance of their purpose. The ultimate
result of all this is to disseminate venereal diseases which in many
instances go untreated owing to the fact that these mentally
deficient children hardly realise the effect of the diseases on
them, much less the necessity for treatment and cure. The
effect of venereal disease not only on the individual but also on
his progeny is too well known to require recapitulation. They
in their turn not only cause other diseases, high infant death
rate, but produce a generation of weak, mentally deficient and
blind children, thus completing the perfectly vicious circle of
aiding the cause of beggary and the swelling number of beggars.

We have so far attempted to indicate the general and special
manner in which the beggars of different types disseminate
diseases and constitute a nuisance and a danger to the public.
We have not estimated the economic loss to the community arising
from supporting able-bodied, lazy adults and child beggars on
charity. To me, it is a waste of national wealth to keep them
perpetually as dependent individuals. Even if it is not a loss
of national wealth, it cannot be denied that they are a definite
danger to national health.

The religious mendicants are met with more frequently at
centres of pilgrimage and near the temples ; they are not a com-
mon sight in the streets of the cities. The annoyance and in-
convenience caused by such beggars to the general public is,
therefore, much less in proportion to that caused by street beggars
of the types described above.

The truly religious mendicant is seldom, if ever, a nuisance
and the chances of contracting diseases from him are extremely

OUR BEGGAR PROBLEM

remote and rare. These mendicants are a class whose religions
have prompted them to renounce the world and to live on alms
just sufficient for a daily meal and no more. They possess
nothing but the will to serve God and find Him. The spurious
mendicant, however, is one who possesses, inspite of the apparent-
renunciation of the world as manifested by his garb, powerful
instincts of possession and accumulation. He goes on begging
without end and it is he who is a source of annoyance and in-
convenience so often met with at the pilgrim centres. Fortunate-
ly, this type is generally localised round these places of worship
and hence is not as acute a problem as 'the city beggar. As long
as individual and indiscriminate alms-giving continues, these
will remain a problem. A number of this class, homeless as they
are, live in insanitary surroundings and owing to dirty habits
of living are a source of danger to public health as other types
of beggars.

An orphan enlists sympathy of the public, particularly of
the family man, much more quickly and easily than any other
child beggar. The appeal is even more effective when the orphan
can relate pathetic stories of neglect and cruelty or of death of
parents under tragic circumstances. Immediately the hearts
are touched and the purse strings are loosened. This fact is
often taken advantage of by some unscrupulous managers of
the so-called orphanages in the outlying districts. They bring
stray children into the city, train them to pose as orphans and
to beg for funds for their institutions. If attempts were seriously
made to trace the existence of these institutions, in many instances
they would end in fruitless search. It has indeed become a pro*
fession with them and a profitable one at that. These so-called
orphan beggars usually visit homes, institutions, railway stations
and trains. They are not usually seen begging in streets and,
therefore, are not as obnoxious a pest as the ordinary street
beggar. These children generally come from distant villages or
small towns and are let loose in the cities where diseases of dif-
ferent nature are endemic. Their sojourn in the city is made
under difficult conditions at as little expense as possible. In
their attempt to save and surrender to their inexorable masters
48

Mela The Beggars' f araaise.

A Mendicant

OUR SADHUS

Hale and hearty, under the garb of religious dedication, find life easy-
going. They go from door to door, singing religious songs and accepting
anything, cash, eatables or clothing.

BEGGARS A MENACE TO PUBLIC HEALTH

almost the whole amount collected by begging, these children
suffer a good deal for want of proper food and shelter. The
inevitable result is that they become susceptible to the city diseases
and fall a prey to them. When finally they go back to the
villages, it is generally with money but minus their health. If
the disease acquired is infectious, they become fresh foci of in-
fection and spread it to others.

Leprosy is one of the most dreaded diseases in India. Hence
leper beggars arc the most objectionable to the general public.
But in order to understand the causation of this problem of
beggars with leprosy, it is necessary to view the subject from
different angles and it is only then that the enormity of its social
and public health significance, as also of the difficulties in remedy-
ing the evil, can be accurately measured.

The association of leprosy with the profession of begging
is very ancient. For many centuries wandering beggars with
leprosy have visited centres of pilgrimage and large cities. In
recent years, with the development and industrialisation of our
cities, the problem of beggars with leprosy has attained very
large proportions. It is very acute in cities like Calcutta, Bombay
and Madras. In Calcutta they generally live in bustees and
quarters entirely occupied by them and the business of begging
is well organised under a headman. In addition to receiving help
in the form of money, the lepers are sometimes fed in large num-
bers at certain centres by philanthropic and religious organisa-
tions. Fortunately, however, the danger to the general public;
is minimised to a great extent by their segregation. In other
cities where such is not the case, they are scattered throughout
the city and thereby increase the danger. In Bombay there is a
Leper Asylum (Acworth Leper Home), but even at its best it can
only accommodate a fraction of the actual number that should be
isolated. Forced isolation has proved a failure as is seen from
the fact that the lepers abscond in numbers. Even if they
could be kept by force upto the fullest capacity of the institution
or even more, their places in the streets would be taken up by
new-comers from the provinces and the problem of leper beggars
on the streets will continue as ever.

OUR BEGGAR PROBLEM

In Bombay 80% of the lepers committed to the Acworth
Leper Home by the Magistrates belong to areas outside the city
and very often outside the province as well. Attempts were
therefore made to place upon the districts and provinces the
financial burden of segregation, but that too has failed to prevent
the migration of beggar lepers into the city. In the absence of
a co-ordinated and co-operative policy of leprosy control on the
part of the various provinces, of registration of leper beggars in
different parts of India, of rigid restrictions in travel, of a genuine
desire for diverting individual charity into community chests,
of an effective public opinion against congregation of these
people in cities and public places and against indiscriminate
alms-giving, the stream of beggars from smaller places to bigger
ones will flow on for ever.

If we were to assess fully the damage to public health caused
by the leper beggars, it is necessary to appreciate the various
conditions that influence the incidence of leprosy, the attitude
of the public towards the disease and the social status of the
people suffering from it. Leprosy is a social problem and socio-
economic factors such as poverty, bad housing, poor nutrition
and debilitating diseases have both predisposing and aggravating
effects upon the individual, although it is difficult io form an
exact quantitative, estimate of the part played by each one of
them.

In ancient Indian writings the attitude of the people toward
the disease has been described in very clear language. Avoidance
of contact with lepers has been particularly emphasised and social
ostracism practised. Even today in certain parts of India,
lepers are treated as social outcasts and are often compelled to
leave their village and the state. The result is a silent and steady
movement towards the cittes and bigger places where for want
of other means of livelihood, they fall upon begging as the only
resource. In these parts of India the reaction upon the healthy
individual, when he sees a leper anywhere near him, is one of
intense terror. Again, there are other parts of India where the
people are entirely indifferent to leprosy, as far as social contacts
are concerned. With them the old idea of hereditary nature

BEGGARS A MENACE TO PUBLIC HEALTH

of the disease still holds good and the belief in contagion is not
at all strong. Both the attitudes of indifference and exaggerated
fear are unhelpful, if not harmful, and it is necessary that a more
rational attitude based on sound knowledge of the simple facts
of the disease should be adopted by the public. It is often stated
by medical people that the majority of leper beggars are merely
burnt out cases and are not infective, while lay people consider
all lepers as infective. Truth, however, lies midway between
the two.

The social position of those suffering from leprosy has a very
direct bearing on the question of the increase of leper beggars.
In certain parts of India and in certain communities therein the
social consequences of leprosy are so serious that it is sometimes
difficult for the diseased to remain in the village or to earn their
living. If employed in industry or elsewhere, the mere knowledge
that a person is suffering from leprosy, will bring about a loss
of employment. Sometimes the disease may lead to partial
or total disability and thus prevent him from earning his living
This is how and why persons affected with leprosy tend to become
beggars and naturally move towards localities where chances
and prospects are better. This is true not only of the severely
infective cases of leprosy, but often of persons who are suffering
from a mild non-infective form which is not a danger to others.
Sometimes employment is refused even when a medical certificate
that the disease is arrested and non-infective, is produced.

Let us now see how and what actual danger to public health
results from the type of leper beggars usually seen in the cities.
They are a mixed crowd, some in the very late stage of the disease
often considered the worst of them but in fact the least dangerous ;
some in an infective stage, the lepromatous type ; and some in
the very early non-infective stage, perhaps the consequence
of close association with other lepers in the family. The second
group is the most dangerous, but so far as offence to the sight
is concerned, the first and the second are equally nauseating
and loathsome. Leprosy infection occurs as a rule from pro-
longed contact, but. the possibility of acquiring infection from
the highly infective cases at close but short contact cannot be

OUE BEGGAR PROBLEM

altogether ruled out. Moreover, a patient who is non-infective
today may pass on to an infective stage without even himself
knowing of it. Hence the danger if beggars with leprosy are
allowed to move about freely amongst others and particularly
in crowded places. Whatever measures, therefore, may be taken
should be directed against all the three classes. The public will
then be spared not only the disgusting sight, but the disquieting
condition and agony of mind resulting from a close contact with
an infective leper.

These then are some of the main features of the beggar
problem as it affects public health. Beggars, with communicable
diseases, such as tuberculosis, small-pox, measles, leprosy, etc.,
are at large in our country, and they congregate in cities, at
public fairs and pilgrimage centres, travel by trains and sleep
on footpaths in large cities at night. Helpless, mentally deficient
children, victims of sex prevcrsions and prostitution, also spread
social diseases far and wide. Denied any sanitary conditions
of living, or opportunities for personal comforts which they cannot
help snatching in open streets, avoiding law such as it exists,
these socially disinherited unfortunates become helpless agents
of infection throughout the country wherever they can chance
to rest their weary heads. We have avoided detailed discussion
of the various causes of the beggar problem and its remedies,
as that falls within the domain of experts in Sociology. We
have only touched on this aspect occasionally, confining our
attention to the health aspect of it, since without reference to
its etiology it would be like the staging of Hamlet without the
Prince of Denmark.

PROFESSIONAL ORGANISATION
AMONG BEGGARS

Recently Mr. Amarchand Bhatia made, with the help of a
fund donated by Mr. liirla, a research study of the beggar
problem in Northern India, which reveals that beggar-cum-
traders, beggar-cum-wanderirig minstrels and a hundred such
other masked professionals, are recruited and organized from
all castes <tiid tribes. In this study he gives us some description
of the different kinds of organizations which exist among
beggars. On the basis of his findings he maintains that beggars
evolve into organisational types, with large membership and
with close governments of their own, and that therefore the
problem should be tackled on all fronts.

ONE of the fundamental mistakes made in grappling with
the menace of beggary is that of tackling the individual
beggar, without tackling the organization the "Beggars'
Brotherhood*' which exploits him and thousands of others
like him with impunity. Having not as yet fully acquired active
self-consciousness, the individual beggar is absorbed in the life
of the hordes, without the liberation of his ego. The calculating
and foreseeing actionof human reason should be directed against
this organised force.

The Beggar Organisation aims at joint begging, pooling of
all resources accumulated through individual or group begging,
joint corporative household and joint worship of a u Guru " or

OUR BEGGAR PROBLEM

" Gods ". Further, it maintains fraternal relationship amongst
beggars coming from a particular part of the country for the
purpose of joint defence against the lawful forces of the Govern-
ment ; and it seeks not only to minimize the trouble engendered
by individual endeavours but also to eliminate inimical indivi-
duals from within its rank and file. Some of these organisations
are loose and casual which scatter easily and willingly, and break
many a time within a year but again come into formation accord-
ing to the exigencies of time. Others are very strong, powerful,
self-supporting, self-determining, authoritarian, regional and
communal, and only very hard knocks can smash and disintegrate
them.

During my research work in the problem of beggary in the
Punjab, I found that strong organisations existed in big cities
in : (a) the colonies of beggars ; (b) orphanages ; (c) temples,
mosques, monasteries, shrines, cemeteries ; (d) poor houses main-
tained by " exploiters " ; (e) certain tribes living by river sides ;
(/) labour groups living both by wage and begging, and (g) certain
villages. Loose organisations were found amongst beggars
hailing from Kashmir, Tibet and Afghanistan. They, " invade "
cities in organised groups in certain parts of the year and at the
time of important fairs. Some parties of beggars, particularly
among Pathans, were found to commit thefts, robbery and
kidnapping at night.

Strong Organisations. In the beggar colonies of the big
cities of the Punjab like Lahore, Amritsar, Jullundur, Sialkot
and Rawalpindi, interesting instances of organisational work
were observed. The beggars there are governed by strict ela-
borate codes of behaviour, stern discipline and ceremonial drink-
ing parties.

In the colonies of Lahore and Amritsar inhabited mostly
by Hindus coming from Rohtak, Hissar and Delhi the following
particulars are noticeable. The head of the- colony is called the
Chowdhry. He is the most daring of all " who can beg in the
presence of high police and military officers, and on all occasions ".
Under him is a board of five forming a kind of panchayat to
distribute the booty and to control membership. Then cornes

PROFESSIONAL ORGANISATION AMONG BEGGARS

the bania who owns a small shop and is the accountant of the
44 Brotherhood ". His shop is the clearing-house for stolen goods.
He gets two annas per rupee as his share out of the earnings
of the colonists. One-fourth out of this windfall is given away
by him to the policeman on duty who visits the colony every
day on some pretext or the other. The beggars have to buy
their things from the bania and many of them remain indebted
to him. In order to pay him they slip away from the colony
now and then, and resort to individual begging, since the joint
share distributed by the Chowdhry is insufficient. Otherwise,
they move in groups. " Territories " are allotted and the groups
go round tho city by rotation so as not to be found by the police
and the public at one and the same place. Special " squads "
are organised to beg at temples and mosques and go round the
churches. *

Different methods of begging are assigned to different types
of persons in the colony. An old, crippled man in a small wooden
cart pushed by a woman must accompany every big party.
One group consisting of five or six beggars forms a singing party.
Another group is sent to be scattered individually over the
main roads. A blind member is brought back in the evening
by the eldest male child or elderly woman of the family. The
blind, the crippled and the infirm are counted as assets to the
colony.

A party of fortune-tellers is asked to stick to one road every
day. Amongst them some own sparrows whose particular
movements and picking and choosing the questions, and the
owner's answers decide the fate of the passer by who wishes to
know his future. The story-tellers are different. They begin a
story and end it by selling inefficacious drugs and medicines.

A party is specially trained in the art of blackmailing
respectable people by loud noises and uncouth words. He that
can lash out the bloodiest oaths is computed to be the bravest
fellow. The roarer is usually asked to go into a bazaar and stand
in front of a shop and abuse the owner indiscriminately. After
some time he begins giving blessings and then makes his demands.
The knowledge of the family of the shopkeeper is obtained

CUE BEGGAR PROBLEM

beforehand by a reconnaissance expert of the colony, and is doled
out to the person who is deputed to " picket " the shop. Many a
time such picketing goes on for days together till the shopkeeper
climbs down.

Many of these beggars are given training in keeping their
noses, lips and ears closed by means of various devices. The
practice lasts for one year or so. They are then sent out indivi-
dually. So are those who can easily foam at the mouth by cleverly
hiding a lump of soap between their teeth and conveniently fall
into convulsions ; and those who have a genius for disguise develop
a ponderous deformity with something elephantine in the folds
of bandages about their legs, the stoop of the broad shoulders,
and the repulsive and pendulous lip. Everything is done with
considerable ingenuity, but a simpler and less painful method
is by the use of an old rag with butter, frankincense, brimstone
and rexin, blood and cream. Some of them (especially women),
who can easily amputate or dislocate their arms and legs or can
pose as being lame, are sent on special expeditions to persuade
the credulous brandishing documents garnished with huge seals
or signatures. They pretend as if their homes and husbands
had been burnt and they were left destitute, or a famine, an
earthquake or a flood had driven them to begging.

Some mix the rust of iron with unslaked lime and soap and
spread this over a leather strap which they then bind to their
legs. When the strap is removed, most of the skin of the leg
comes with it. And blood is rubbed on the sore flesh. At night
time they retire to a place undoing the bandages of their false
wounds, and unstiifening their sound and vigorous knees which
had been bound up since the morning in a thousand ligatures.
Others prepare their sore legs with celandine and ox-blood for
the morrow. Many attend fairs and festivals in the garb of
sadhus accompanied by ' chelas besmeared with dust '.

Among the lesser orders of their * c Brotherhood " are those
who have acquired the trick of doubling back their tongues
so as to make it appear that they had been born dumb. Their
favourite story is that they had had their tongues cut off for
speaking disrespectfully of " Durga Mata ". In fact their

PROFESSIONAL ORGANISATION AMONG BEGGARS

trick is that they tie a thread to the end of their tongues and
" communicate " this to some paste which they also swallow,
thus drawing the tongues back and securing them. Some small
boys are kept by the beggars on diet so that they become thin
enough to worm through ventilators of big' bungalows easily.
Others are taught how to keep their eyes closed throughout
the day so that they may look blind while begging.

These beggars have, with the proverbial subtlety of their
kind, turned begging into a mysterious and esoteric art. If a
beggar is a rogue, he is a jolly rogue. And he sings :

We have great gain, with little pain

And lightly spend it too ;

We do not toil, nor yet we moil,

As other poor folks do.

We are winners all three,

And so will we be

Wherever we go.

For AVC know how

To bend and bow

And to do what is to be done.

Nine hundred rupees this cripple had got
By begging and thieving so good was his lot,
A thousand rupees he would make it, he said,
And then lie would give over his trade.

Thus goes the impotent cripple, nasty, ragged, lowsy, unclean,
poor, dejected, humble, bare-legged, bare-armed, dark and
deceitful beggar of the colony, swaggering along the streets of
big cities.

When the chief of a colony is installed, wine is poured over
his head and distributed amongst the members of the assembly.
The newly-elected chief of the colony then asks them to repeat
with him the Ten Vows which are :

(1) We shall obey the chief.

(2) We shall keep faith with our fellows.

(3) We shall keep counsel with our brothers.

OUR BEGGAE PROBLEM

(4) We shall share in all matters of the " Brotherhood ".

(5) We shall not hear the "Brotherhood" spoken ill of

without seeking vengeance.

(6) We shall share all winnings.

(7) We shall keep appointments or attend meetings by

day or night at any place decided on.

(8) We shall not divulge the secret of the place.

(9) We shall harm no fellow-beggars.

(10) We shall marry according to the dictates of the
panchayat of the colony.

At the time of marriage both the bride's and bridegroom's
party are to contribute Rs. 5-8-0 each and an equal amount is
added by the other beggars. Meat and wine are distributed
to celebrate the occasion.

The chief's powers arc absolute. In one colony it was com-
plained that, in order to increase his income, he allowed his
daughter and wife to go to the railway clerks* quarters to earn
their living by prostitution. But, others, though ready to follow
his example, were not allowed to do so.

There are colonies exclusively of labourers, who work partly
in factories and partly on roads and streets. Most of those who
grind salt, work with the parties engaged in the construction
of roads and buildings and have seasonal occupations, resort
to begging in groups when not employed anywhere. Just like
other " colonists," they organise parties with a division of ter-
ritories under the orders of their " head " who gets one-tenth
of the booty brought back by an individual beggar. There is
no pooling of resources and every beggar delivers the share him-
self. The headman is a clever rogue and no beggar can baulk
him of the tenth of the spoils. He keeps spies on his parties
whom he helps in getting employment in the city. He is a
landlord who leases his land for the construction of cottages.
For each cottage he charges 12 annas per head in addition to
the one-tenth share out of the earnings of a beggar. At cere-
monies, like the initiation of members, marriages, betrothals,
installation of goods, he also gets his due share which amounts
sometimes to about fifty rupees.

PROFESSIONAL ORGANISATION AMONG BEGGARS

The Lahore Corporation has tried many a time to come to
grips with one such " head " but he always escaped like his " bro-
thers " to other colonies, because being a Mohammadan, if haras-
sed, he is able to make it a communal question with the help
of his co-religionists. The beggars, however, are mostly Hindus.
A striking feature of these beggar-colonists is that their children
and women are also expert beggars. In many cases the head
of the family does not beg but the other members do it in groups.

Some orphanages in the " big " cities of the Punjab, usually
send their inmates early in the morning every day to various
parts of the city as singing parties to collect alms. Some of
them are bogus institutions and have been found many a time
to be so by the police. Yet they spring up now and then under
the patronage of a clever beggar-curn-trader. He is beyond the
clutches of the law, and works with impunity. In a remote
corner of a mohalla in the city, far off from the guards of the
police, a few rooms arc rented in some family quarters for keep-
ing a few children and these are sent one by one till they assemble
in a particular street where they start begging. Hindu children
go to Hindu quarters, the Muslim to the Muslim quarters. A
few Sikh children are also organised but they work individually
and not in groups. They generally collect wheat-flour, mustard
oil and ghee but rarely money.

The orphanages, that are registered bodies, do not encourage
daily begging in the cities of the Punjab, but organise parties
on ceremonial occasions, A few representatives of such orpha-
nages, carrying locked boxes, are sent to railway stations where
they harangue the tired travellers, and get monetary help from
them. Many cases of bogus representatives carrying on the
trade in the name of registered orphanages by paying some-
thing to the ticket-collector or the police have been traced.
Some time back the police found a gang of clever men, engaged
in such a trade, dividing the accumulations amongst themselves.
At their headquarters in Amritsar, a large number of fictitious
railway tickets, and boxes belonging to certain registered orphan-
ages were recovered by the police. Their chief had his own
house, a palatial building, and a number of disciples working

OUR BEGGAR PROBLEM

under him. They would go as far as Calcutta and Peshawar,
and were alleged to be in league with 'certain railway officials
and the Police.

In some temples and mosques the Guru or the Pir sends
his chclas (disciples) round the city in the morning every day
for begging. The collections are generally his property. The
gaddi passes on to the eldest Chela. The others stay for being
trained in the act of worshipping gods and have their meals and
other comforts satisfied all gratis. These are religious orders,
pure and simple. Many of them arc of the highest respectability.
The members living in monasteries or shrines live quiet, peaceful
lives, keeping open the house to travelling sadhus or pirs, training
their neophytes and exercising sometimes a wholesome influence
upon the people in the neighbourhood. But there arc a few
such institutions which arc strongholds of kidnappers and women
seducers. Many cases of c boy -him tors ' have been traced by
me during my research work, especially in Amritsnr, Lahore,
Rawalpindi, Peshawar and Jullundur. Some of the orders,
however, do not keep up regular monasteries but travel about
begging and visiting their disciples, though even here they gene-
rally have permanent headquarters in some village or at some
shrine or temple where one of their order officiates. Their dis-
ciples are called Sewakas (in the case of Hindus) and Murids
(in the case of Muslims). In some cases they marry and have
carnal or bindi children. Generally they have spiritual children
in their chelas, many of whom are notoriously profligate debau-
chees, wandering about the country, seducing women extorting
alms by threat of curses, and relying on their saintly appearance
for protection. j

The Faqirs in the garb of regular orders, are generally seen
wandering about the country living on the alms of the credulous,
often hardly knowing the names of the orders to which the ex-
ternal signs they wear would show them to belong. Such men
are mere beggars, not ascetics ; their number, is unfortunately
large in the Punjab. The Faqir class have in their hands the
custody of petty shrines, the menial service of village temples
and mosques, the guardianship of cemeteries and similar semi-

PROFESSIONAL ORGANISATION AMONG BEGGARS

religious offices. For these services they often receive small
grants of land from the village, by cultivating which they sup-
plement the alms and offerings they receive.

The Bairagis arc divided into several sections, each section
being controlled by a head who is worshipped and offered a
yearly fee. They arc, for the most part, concentrated in monas-
teries and arc exceedingly respectable. They are most numerous
in the Jamuna districts (about 3,000 families), and are to be
found in almost equal numbers in. Amritsar, Lahore and Feroze-
pore districts. In Kama], villages are held by descendants of
both the children and disciples of the Bairagi monks. The
Sanyasis, almost 2,000 families, are found in the Ilissar district.
The Gosavis appear to be confined mostly to the south-eastern
districts.

The Sadhus are found in large numbers in the Upper Ganges
Jamuna J)oab. From Farukhabad upwards their religious
ceremony consists in eating together and running a common
kitchen. The earnings arc pooled and the meals prepared by
them in turn. They hail mostly from Delhi and Hissar districts
and Rohtak. A strong fraternity exists among them and one
Guru alone has thousands of chclas controlled by * Sub-Gurus '
appointed by the chief. In the Shivalas are to be found well-
organised Jogi Faqirs. About 5,000 families arc scattered all
over the Province. They arc well-knit through a head who is
paid Us. 100/- every three months by each district under him.

The Aghori sect is found wandering about the streets, stark
naked, leading a jackal or a dog by a string, besmeared with
blood and carrying the same substance in a skull, to bespatter
him who refuses them alms. The sect is under the " Akhara "
which has branches all over the province and is governed by a
council presided over by a chief.

Among the Suthra Shahi seel, some arc notorious for gambl-
ing, thieving, drunkenness, and debauchery and lead a vagabond
life, begging and singing songs of a mystic nature. They wear
ropes of black wool on the head and neck, and beat two small
black (chips) sticks together as they beg. They respect the
territorial rights of every comrade of their sect, as assigned to

OUE BEGGAR PROBLEM

him by their Guru, living generally in a village and sharing the
bounty afforded by his disciples.

About 8,000 male and 2,000 female Udasis, who believe in
the Adi Granth of Guru Nanak, were found scattered all over the
Province in monasteries under their chiefs with whom they shared
their earnings. Many of them are clad in loin-cloth or Kachka.
Generally, they keep to Gurudwaras but on occasions of big fairs
they are seen in temples joining the ceremonies there. They
have followers amongst Hindus who pay their homage to them
in cash every Tuesday,

The Nirmalas (without stain), living almost entirely in
monasteries, have a high reputation for morality. They have
their big community at Amritsar and are governed by a Council,
known as the Akhara, which visits periodically the Nirmala
societies throughout the province which are controlled by a
head Abbot or Mahant. About 2,000 families were found in
Amritsar and Jullunder alone. They go as far as Bombay
and Calcutta for begging.

The Diwana Sadhu (" Mad Saints "), coming generally
from the Kangra district, are governed by a panchayat in carry-
ing on their activities. They have big colonies there, and strict
rules and regulations are maintained for the admission of mem-
bers. A Guru controls them and assigns individual and group
duties in various seasons.

Muslim Beggars. Amongst the Mussalmans organised beg-
ging is resorted to by the following orders :

(a) The Bharais or Pirahis. About 4,000 in Lahore and
Ferozepur districts ; about 2,500 in Gujranwala district ; con-
fined mostly to the central and sub-mountain districts and states.
They go about beatkig a drum and begging in the name of Sakhi
Sarwar, and conduct parties of pilgrims to the shrines at Nigaha.
They also receive the offerings of the local shrines. They cir-
cumcise boys in western districts and often act as Mirasis, for
whom they are often mistaken. On the lower Indus, they
supersede the barber as circumcisers. It is said that the prophet
gave his coat (pairahan) to one of their ancestors as a reward
for circumcising a convert after a barber had refused to do so.

PROFESSIONAL ORGANISATION AMONG BEGGARS

(b) The Madaris control many shrines. In the Punjab
this order has about 25,000 males, 2,000 females, mostly in
Ambala, Ludhiana, Jullunder, Hoshiarpur, Amritsar, Sialkot
and Ferozepur.

(c) The Malang order (a branch of the Madaris) lives,
mostly in Patiala, Malerkotla, Jullunder and Ferozepur. The
members annually assemble at a certain place, offerings are
collected and matters concerning the welfare of all are discussed.

(d) The Benawa order of Faqirs is found mostly in the
Jamuna districts and Rohtak.

(e) The Jalali order has followers in the Jullunder, Amritsar
and Lahore divisions. Candidates for admission to the order
shave completely, burn their clothes and are branded on the
right shoulder.

(f) The Hussaini order has more females than males among
their members and are confined mostly to Gurgaon.

(g) The Qadiris are followers of Pir Dastagir whose shrine
is at Baghdad. Found mostly in the Ambala, Amritsar, and
Lahore divisions, they sit for hours outside houses in the city
repeating : u Thou art the guide, Thou art the truth, there
is none but Thee."

(h) Colonies of Darveshes (another sect of Faqirs) are to
be found in Batala and Pathankot and in Amritsar and Kapur-
thala. They cultivate a little land, play musical instruments,
beg, make ropes, go to a house where there has been a death
and chant the praises of the deceased, and hang about mosques.
Many recruits are allowed to enter the order on payment of a
yearly fee to the head of a town or of a district as the case may
be.

(i) Like the Qadiris the Naqshbandias, the followers of
Khwaja Pir Muhammed Naqshband, found mostly in the Amritsar
division, worship at shrines or on invitation by illiterate folks,
by sitting perfectly silent and motionless, with bowed head
and eyes fixed on the ground. For these performances they
get alms which they share amongst themselves.

(j) The Chistti Faqirs, the followers of Bandh Nawaz,
whose shrine is at Kalbaragah and who are confined to the

CUE BEGOAE PROBLEM

eastern half of the province, worship by leaping up and gesticu-
lating and repeating " Allah-ya-Allah~Hir " till they work them-
selves into a frenzy and at last sink down exhausted. They
divide villages among themselves and beg only in the territories
assigned to them by their head. An annual meeting of the order
is held in a central place by rotation where their chief is offered
his share of the six-monthly earnings.

Loose Organisations. Certain tribal beggars, like Sansis
and Aheris, determined and fearless, living near river sides,
come into the city in organised parties at night for begging.
They resort to theft and kidnappings while giving the impres-
sion to the citizens that they are out to collect bread. This is
in fact, a loose type of organisation, only meant for burglaries.
Amongst the outsiders the Kashmiri beggars, who come
down to the Punjab in winter, are somewhat better organised
than the Pathans or the Tibetans, the Bhats or the Rawals.
the Bhands or the Bahurupias. A party of 100 Kashmiri beggars
belonging to Mirpur Khas, Pahlgam and other parts of Kashmir,
was discovered selling horses and after the sale begging in groups.
A head is chosen as the party starts from Kashmir ; his orders
are obeyed so long as the party remains engaged in their " trade ".
Their womenfolk prepare meals together. When the party is
to leave for another place, a group goes ahead to select the place
to settle and the others follow. At the fag-end of winter, the
party is dissolved and individuals allowed to go their own way.

The Tibetans also come down to the Punjab in winter, in
groups of eight or ten. They arrange to get one or two beggars
from the Punjab and with his or their help travel all over the
province. At Amritsar they keep their head-quarters n@at-
Darbar Sahib (in which they have great faith). Their parties,
after travelling up to Peshawar, assemble again at Amritsar *
matters of common interest are discussed throughout a whole
day and night. There is no Chowdhry but the cleverest of all
is selected to preside over meetings and conduct its deliberations.
After Dewali, they move down to Delhi and other places.

5^^" r ^ip?fe r "m % ^ another" tribe of beggars having a loose
type f rfr^nfaatidb.' they -generally kee to the villages and

PROFESSIONAL ORGANISATION AMONG BEGGARS

practise tumbling or rope-dancing, lead about beans, donkeys
and monkeys. They are governed by tribal councils and often
undertake ordeals to prove their innocence. A common form
of ordeal is that the accused stands in a pond with a pole in his
hand. At a given signal he ducks his head ; while another man,
honest and true, starts running at a fair pace for a spot 70
paces distant. If the accused can keep under water while the
140 paces to and fro are covered, he is acquitted. If not, he has
to submit to such penalty as the council may impose.

The womenfolk of the Nats and Bazigars jugglers and
acrobats belong to a tribe of vagrant habits ; they are generally
seen begging in groups of three or four. Muslim Nats are said
to prostitute their unmarried women and, when a Nat woman
marries, the first female child is either given to the grand-mother
or is redeemed by payment of thirty rupees. These tribes are
governed by a Raja and Rani, or King and Queen, like the gypsy
tribes of Europe. Like them, Kanjars prostitute their daughters
and do so in the garb of beggars. They form groups and are
worshippers of Gujb Pir. Delhi is their headquarters.

The Hesis are a tribe of beggar-cwm-wandering-minstrels of
the higher Himalayan villages. The men play the pipes and
kettle-drum, while the women dance and sing, and play the
tambourine. They are the only class in Lahul and Spiti
that owns no land. Though they are generally beggars, they
sometimes engage in petty trades. Their headquarters are in
Kangra, Mandi, and Suket, and they are governed by the orders
of their heads who change, usually after three months.

The Garidhilas wander about bare-footed and bare-headed,
beg, work at grass and straw, eat tortoise and vermin. They
think that they own a kingdom beyond the Indus and are up4 er
a vow not to wear shoes or turbans till their possessions are res-
tored to them. The head of the tribe thus keeps them loyal to
him and is worshipped and given offerings which he h^j^Js over
to a council of twenty for use in time of war to regaip
kingdom. He ^ V * >c jj*^ <:> .j8.. u _lfi.p_g__Qf__] r M*<ycfa.rs ** and
luxurious life.

OUR BEGGAE PROBLEM

The Bhats, bards and genealogists are usually seen roaming
and begging in big cities. A Bhat is a hereditary servant, each
local clan having its own Bhat who pays them periodical visits,
writes its genealogy up to-date and receives his fees. At great
weddings he attends and recites the history and praises of an-
cestors and the genealogy of the bridegroom. Those Bhats who
come from, in and about Bikaner are generally dressed in silk.
Different groups have different heads. Whereas men remain
idle, looking after the things of the party, women organise singing
parties, beg and sometimes serve as prostitutes too.

Then there are the Jogis, a thoroughly vagabond sect. They
wander about the country beating a drum and begging, practising
surgery and medicine in a small way ; they write charms, tell
fortune, and practise exorcism and divination ; sometimes they
settle down in the villages, eking out a living on their earnings
from- these occupations, and the offerings made at the local
shrines of the Saiyadas and other Mussalman saints. Their
Mussalman section is called Rawals (notorious cheats) in the
central Punjab. They travel about the Central Provinces and
the Decfcan, and even visit Bombay and Calcutta where they
pilfer and rob. As they are often away on these expeditions,
the baniya of the village supports their families on credit, to be
repaid with interest on the return of the men.

The Bahurupia, an actor or one who assumes many forms
or characters, is a clever beggar. There are Bahurupia families
in Panipat who hold a revenue-free village and call themselves
Sukhs. In Sialkot and Gujrat they are called Mahatmas and
are organised under spiritual heads. Some of them have
acquired the trick of doubling back their tongue so as to make
them appear as born dumb.

From the west of India comes a strange sect of praying
beggars known as Aradhis, a mixed class recruited from Brah-
mins to Mahars, and curiously even from Muslims. Childless
men whose hope of salvation is jeopardized, vow that if a male
child is vouchsafed it shall be dedicated as an Aradhi. Aradhins
or, praying girls, are famous for their charm and beauty. Many
of the men mortify theft flesh and become eunuchs. They go

PROFESSIONAL ORGANISATION AMONG BEGGARS

about in bands of four or five with drums and one-stringed fiddle
known as *tuntune.*

Such are some of the organisations of beggars existing in
North India to-day. Constructive social forces need to be mobi-
lized to rehabilitate them. The organisations should be attacked
on all fronts. It is no use tackling individual beggars. Reli-
gious feeling, no doubt, stands in the way of dealing with such
organised bodies ; this only means that the religious minded
need an enlightened interpretation of religion. Where law can
intervene, it should be used with firmness. Where reform can
help, the organisations should be isolated and diverted to useful
channels, .it should not be difficult to turn the colonies into
centres of useful small-scale industries and the colonists into
helpful producers of national wealth. To treat the groups in
the milieu on sound psychological basis with concerted efforts,
and to hold back unorganised charity from flowing towards
these organised beggar-monopolists by proper pressure on mis-
guided philanthropists are an important part of the main res-
ponsibility of the authorities. But first we need to understand
the forces that give coherence to these unsocial masses of our
population.

A HISTORICAL SURVEY OF BEGGAR
RELIEF IN INDIA

The varna institution and the joint family system have
had important bearing on the problem of beggary in ancient
India. According to Dr. M. Vasudeva Moorthy, the former
"defined the scope and methods of mendicancy, distributed the
social burden of poor relief and prevented haphazard and
promiscuous begging," while the latter encouraged the pooling
of resources and the even distribution for all. But the
institutions as, they exist, no longer fulfil these original
functions ; indeed, they do not even help to mitigate the
problem. Further, the various forms in which beggar relief
found expression, such as alms giving, sadavartas, dharma-
salas, etc., which were financed both by individuals and the
State, have also deteriorated. And consequently, the author
maintains that the changed conditions call for new techniques
for handling the beggar problem.

IN an enquiry into our methods of beggar relief one has
to bear in mind some important factors in order to ap-
preciate the problem in its proper perspective. The
problem of beggar relief is a part of the problem of poor
relief. Hence an investigation of beggar relief in India is really
a part of the study of the methods adopted to alleviate poverty.
Begging is associated with indigence. It is only the helpless
poor that beg. Begging presupposes a condition of helplessness
in which one cannot earn his livelihood by any means whatsoever,

OUR BEGGAR PROBLEM

and must perforce depend for existence on the goodwill of others.
A person may be rendered helpless by becoming blind, by the
loss of limbs or by any other disability ; and being so disabled
to earn his livelihood, he may have to live by others' grace.
But if he is born in affluence or has relatives to look after him,
he need not necessarily turn out to be a beggar. A legitimate
beggar is he who cannot earn his livelihood and also has no one
to befriend him but society. This definition, of course, excludes
the able-bodied professional beggars being classed as " legi-
timate beggars." Religious mendicants, so long as they have
no satisfactory excuse to offer for begging, are also not legitimate
beggars but are really able-bodied ones. One may be a beggar
by necessity or by inclination. But the problem of mendicancy
is mixed up with the able-bodied beggars as well as the disabled
poor and the helpless. In practice,- we have the disabled beg-
ging side by side with the able-bodied. For, beggars do not
much care to keep within bounds of finely defined categories ;
and the social worker has to deal with the problem of mendi-
cancy in its entirety taking into account legitimate beggars as
well as those who do not properly belong to that class but tres-
pass into it.

There is another consideration also. Persons may be ren-
dered temporarily helpless and be enforced to a life of begging
for the time being. Such ones are usually poor children suddenly
deprived of their parents or guardians, and also people made
homeless and shiftless by calamities like earthquakes, floods
and famines. This survey includes the consideration of all types
of beggars. What was the strength and position of beggars in
olden times in India ? What was the general feeling in India
regarding beggars?* Were there institutions to relieve the
helpless poor? And what were the ways and means adopted
by the State and the people in general to render assistance to
them ? What was the nature and extent of this relief?
These are some of the questions which we shall try to answer.

The problem of mendicancy appears to have been of little
consequence in the very early India. According to Macdonell
and Keith the word bhikshd in the sense of alms, as that which

A HISTORICAL SURVEY OF BEGGAR RELIEF IN INDIA

is obtained by begging, is used in the Atharvaveda. 1 But u beg-
gar is a term not found in Vedic literature." 2 The beggar as
applied to the religious mendicant is a later extension of the
term belonging to the system of the Asramas. 3 This does not
mean that persons mainly dependant on alms did not exist at
all during the Vedic times. But religious mendicancy had not
yet come to be established as an institution and professional
beggary was not yet a noticeable phenomenon. The Aryans
penetrated into India as invaders, not traders, and settled as.
conquerors, chieftains and landlords. The original dwellers
of the soil were driven further south and those who were subju-
gated were converted into slaves and labourers. The early
Aryans lived in India with the awareness of their belonging to
the ruling classes. Psychologically they were averse to begging.
Perhaps also, in those days of plenty and of less pressure of popu-
lation there were not many persons who were forced to beg at
others' doors. Moreover, this fact, revealed by Anthropology
namely, that in all earlier societies it was incumbent upon the
family, the clan or the tribe to support their own helpless mem-
bers, applies to Vedic societies as well. In view of all these
facts it is not surprising to find the problem of mendicancy
very insignificant in the Vedic times.

Religious Mendicants. The periods that followed, of the
Brahmanas and of the Upanishads, were marked by the emer-
gence of a new phenomenon in the social history of India. The
development of the Varnasrama system of life, which was col*
lateral with the growth of ritual and philosophy, brought into
being religious mendicants. Religious mendicants are those
who have passed or renounced the householder stage of life and
devoted themselves to wandering and asceticism. These are
supposed to be interested in no temporal arts. They abandon
and shun all possessions and professions. Their profession is
self-realization and they maintain themselves by begging. The
number of this class of mendicants in early times is not known.
With the growth of Jainism and Buddhism, and the monastic

1 Vedic Index.

2 Ibid.

3 Ibid.

OUR BEGGAR PROBLEM

orders connected with them, religious mendicancy must have
received a considerable accession of numbers. The pessimism
which generally characterized the mediaeval ages, together
with the introduction of the Muslim fakirs further increased the
numbers. Now the problem of religious mendicancy is associated
with vagrants and able-bodied beggars to whom yellow robes
and rosaries afford a convenient mask and make-believe. The
religious mendicant is to-day looked upon as a person possessing
inscrutable powers of doing mischief or of dispensing good to
whomsoever he likes. He is a miracle-man of magic and of medi-
cine. People give alms to him more out of dread than veneration.
The order of religious mendicants was never in such disrepute.
Factors Responsible for Beggary. No account, however, is
available of legitimate beggars during any period in the past,
of those who were helpless on account of natural disabilities,
of orphans and of those who could find no means of livelihood
other than begging. But we must remember the fact that
old India, particularly mediaeval, following the break up of the
Empire of Harsha was composed of a congeries of states. Wars
between these states were frequent and ferocious ; and almost
every war was attended by blood-curdling pillage. Also epide-
mics and famines left their devastating effects upon villages,
towns and cities. In view of the frequent operation of these
factors one may reasonably imagine that there were often periods
during which many were rendered homeless and helpless. Though
one may not exaggerate the uncertainty of life in the past one
has to recognize that there were forces then as now which from
time to time disorganized family life, beggared well-to-do persons,
orphaned a few, and altogether threw many on the charity of
other citizens, or oi>the mercy of the State. We should not also
omit to mention the melancholy fact that in old India the nature
of penal law was such that it left a few victims mutilated in body.
For certain crimes, the offenders had their thumbs or hands or
legs cut off. After their discharge, these unfortunates, unable
to do anything, probably joined the world of beggars. Thus
the problem of poverty and mendicancy is an old and yet a live
one, calling for solution now and again.

A HISTORICAL SURVEY OF BEGGAR RELIEF IN INDIA

Preventive and Curative Methods. Methods of beggar relief
in the past may be considered under two heads : (1) Preventive
and (2) Curative. Usually, in a study of this nature, some
include punitive methods also. But to describe punitive measures
as a form of beggar relief is a trick of dialectical caricature.
Punishment of beggars is no relief to them ; though, perhaps, it
may afford some immediate relief to society in that it is saved
from the bother of beggars ! Moreover, in the past, begging
when one was helpless was not considered as a legal offence.
Therefore, for the present, we may well dismiss the classification
of punitive methods as a type of beggar relief.

Preventive methods of relief are based on the formula that
a stitch in time saves nine. They are only present devices to
ward off future troubles ; and their adoption involves foresight
and a profound understanding of the laws that govern social
phenomena. Preventive relief measures in India in the past
took the form of institutional designs and ethical regulations.
The Varna and the joint family systems were considered by far
the most efficient and co-operative institutional endeavours
to restrain shifty and adventurous living, to limit and reduce
to a minimum the social burden of vagrancy and mendicancy.

The Varna System. How did the Varna system serve to
prevent begging? Did it not rather allow, indeed encourage,
the entire Brahmin community to beg? This is a paradox
which calls for an explanation. It is well known that the ancient
Varna system was based on the principle of division of functions.
It is true that the Brahmins were allowed to beg ; and we have
earlier suggested that the Varnagrama scheme of life was largely
responsible for the growth and prevalence of the mendicant
orders in early and mediaeval India. But the popular belief
that the Brahmins as a class were allowed to beg is not true.
The Manusmrti mentions begging (bhaikshyam) as one of the
ten means of livelihood open to all those who are in distress, 1
All the four Varnas obtained livelihood through the performance
of their respective functions. The Brahmins, as devoted to
spiritual learning, were forbidden to amass wealth. They were

1 Mann, X. 116 (See Kulluka's commentary).

OUR BEGGAK PROBLEM

called upon to bear poverty ; and history reveals that many
high souled individuals in the past voluntarily renounced
their wealth and embraced a life of poverty. Among the Hindus
the goddess of learning ( Saras vatl) and the goddess of wealth
(Lakshml) are considered as naturally shunning each other's
company. Scholars should take no thought of the morrow.
" Sufficient unto the days is the evil thereof." This view ex-
plains why Brahmins were asked to live by begging during their
pupillary stage. Either the teacher, if well-to-do, maintained
his students or the students begged and maintained their teacher
and themselves. The students went to the doors of three or
five or seven different householders according to their needs,
and " like bees " collected alms therefrom. This method of
obtaining food or grain was called ^Mddhukarl." The tradition
and opinion in favour of Mddhukari was so strong that no house-
holder ever disappointed those students who came to beg at
his doors. Indeed, the householder stage of lift, was highly
prized and praised as enabling one to be useful to students and
also others in other d&ramas. In addition to students, Sannydsis
and Vdnaprasthas also were advised to live by Mddhukari. The
Sannayasopanishad gives elaborate rules which Sannyasis should
observe concerning the manner, time and place of begging. Manu
prescribes the ways in which the members of the first three
Varnas in their pupillary stage of life should address the ladies
of the houses where they go on asking for alms. This means
that students of the three Varnas were permitted to beg.

Begging as a Discipline. Though begging was thus allowed
to the students and the Sannydsis, its scope was strictly limited
with rules and regulations. Begging was not to be a nuisance
to others but a discipline to oneself. Mendicancy was not an
occupation ; it was a form of austerity. It may be said that
Hinduism generally discourages begging. 1 Living by alms is
only permitted during certain conditions and stages of life. On
the ojther hand, giving of alms (dana) is considered to be one of
the highest duties of man ; and even those students and others

1 According to the canons of Islam also begging i* forbidden. Read Report of
the Committee on the Prevention of Professional Beggary in the Bombay Presidency (1920)*.

A HISTOKICAL SURVEY OF BEGGAR RELIEF IN INDIA

who obtain alms are advised to partake of their meagre receipts
with their co-students and fellows. Not only giving of alms
(dana) is much praised but non-acceptance of a gift (aparigraha)
is also considered as a course of conduct which all the varnas
have to observe. Indeed, it is looked upon as a mark of irre-
proachable virtue and integrity on the part of a house-holder
to refuse the offer of a gift. If at all one has to accept a gift
or ask alms he has to do it of a good and true man 1 .

Varna Obligations. According to the old Varna scheme of
life, the duties of each Varna constituted the professions of its
respective members. But the greater burden of providing for
the community fell on the shoulders of the Kshatriyas and the
Vaisyas who were richer than the other two Varnas. The Ksha-
triya, in fact, was held to be responsible for the material well-
being of the entire Hindu community. While there was no
lack of charities and employment for the higher orders the gudras'
well-being was not unregarded. Manu says that the Brahmins
should engage the Sudras in their service and support them and
their families according to their work and needs. 2 The Brahmins
are advised to give to those udras who serve them, the remnants
of meals, old clothes, grains and such other things which the
Brahmins can easily afford. 3 " If the Brahmins were not able
to maintain and support the gudras, it devolved on the Ksha-
triyas and on the Vaisyas to engage and support the gGdras,
The Brahmins on their turn, maintained themselves by teaching ;
and the Kshatriyas and the Vaisyas engaged them as family
priests (purohitas) and maintained them handsomely. It was
common to make endowments of lands to learned Brahmins.
And particularly during mediaeval India many were the scholars
who were created practically zamindars. Peddanarya, who
flourished during the heyday of the Vijayanagara Empire says
that Krishnadeva Raya gave away the village of Kokat and

1 Suddhat pratigrahah. As Kalidasa says: ."Better is begging fruit-lews at the
hands of a good man and true than that which is fulfilled at the hands of a mean fellow."
<Megha.)

2 Manu. X, 124.

3 Ibid. 125.

4 /bid.

OUR BEGGAR PROBLEM

several others to Aim in the districts of his choice. 1 By ancient tradi-
tions such endowments of lands to Brahmins were the custom
all over India and the modern rentfree holdings such as firotriyas
and agraharas are only survivals of old endowments. Being
thus enabled to maintain themselves and others, it is no wonder
that the Brahmins were required to employ and find support
for the lower orders.

This injunction to find employment to the unemployed,
especially of the lower orders was not merely an ethical obligation
implied in the Varna institution, but also a legal enactment.
Manu lays down that the King (the State) should enforce the
VaiSyas and the udras to do the works belonging to their pro-
fessions. 2 And in his commentary Kulluka explains " the king
should punish those Vaisyas and Sudras (able-bodied) who do not
work"* Manu further says, '" If the Kshatriya and the Vaisya,
driven by the necessity for an employment (Vrittikarsitau) seek
the help of the Brahmin, the Brahmin should support them by
giving them employment accordingly. 4 And here, again, Kulluka
explains : " If the well-to-do Brahmin does not support those who
approach him the king should punish the Brahmin "* This leads
one to the two important conclusions : (a) that in old India
it was held to be a punishable offence on the part of the able-bodied
unemployed to refuse the offer of an employment ; (b) and also
that it was a punishable offence on the part of the well-to-do to refuse
to employ and support persons who were in need of such employ-
ment and support.

We are thus justified in concluding that the Varna institu-
tion defined the scope and methods of mendicancy, distributed
the social burden of poor relief and prevented haphazard and
promiscuous begging. But the one great defect of the Varna
system, from the point of view of poor relief, is that while some
provision was made for the employment of those in distress

1 "Kokata^ramadyanekgraharamuladigina simala yandu nicche."

2 Manu. VIII. 410.

3 "Akurvanau vasyasndrau rajna daadyau." Sec com, to Manu. VIII. 410.

4 /M&411.

5 "Evarn balavan brahmanah tavupagatavabibhranrajna dandaniyah." Manti

A HISTORICAL SURVEY OF BEGGAR RELIEF IN INDIA

it did not provide for the fluidity of employment. It created
class and caste distinctions which are repugnant to modern ideas
and ideals of social justice, solidarity and integrity,

The Joint Family as Relief Centre. Along with the varna
institution the joint family system was an important factor
in the prevention of needless beggary in old India. The joint
family was based and organized on the dual principles of trustee-
ship and equality. The elder member or members of the family
held the entire property in trust and administered it in the in-
terests and well-being of all the other members of the family.
At the death of the father or the eldest member of the family,
the eldest son was to administer the family property and main-
tain all the members. The unity and integrity of the family
was the main concern of the joint family system. Whosoever
in the family earned was supposed to earn for all the members
of the family. No one earned for himself alone. Consequently
all the family resources could be pooled together and concentrated
and evenly distributed for the benefit of all the members. In
one family there could be no distinction between the rich and
the poor, which unhappy distinction is a recent phenomenon.
Now-a-days a man can wallow in wealth while his brothers may
be beggars. We know of callous instances where sons are af-
fluent while the parent practically begs. Was there a lame
or a blind member in the joint family ? He had claims of benefit
equal to any other members. Was there a widowed girl or a
parentless child in the family? She had rights of lifelong protec-
tion and maintenance along with the other members. So far as
benefits accruing from the property were concerned there was
perfect equality among all the members. The unfortunate
ones of the family were not driven to the hazards of a precarious
mendicant existence. The joint family system brought and
held together all the members under its broad roof and provided
shelter and sustenance to every one. This benefit and regard
to family members was strictly enforced by the State in ancient
India. Writes Kautilya : " When a capable person other than
an apostate or mother neglects to maintain his or her child
wife, mother, father, minor brothers, sisters, or widowed girls,

OUR BEGGAR PROBLEM

he or she shall be punished with a fine of twelve panas." 1 The
State thus guaranteed the obligations and benefits of the joint
families to their unfortunate members* It was also laid down
that " when, without making provision for the maintenance of
his wife and sons, any person- embraces asceticism, he shall be
punished." 2 In these instances the interference of the State was
obviously with a view to utilize family organization and resources
so as to minimize and keep within bounds the problem of beggars.
One is led to conclude that in ancient India it was held that family
irresponsibility and family disorganization were the potent causes
of beggary and that the State was anxious to nip mendicancy in the
bud by insisting on family integrity and responsibility.

The merits of the joint family system as a means of limiting
and preventing beggary are manifest. The joint family system
inculcates the lesson that if every family took care of its own
members, beggars would be rare. Every family is viewed as a
relief -centre ; and since relief is provided to family members,
the head of the family has the advantage of knowing personally
and intimately the needs and necessities of individuals requiring
help. But the joint family organization is an efficient medium
of relief only when there are large resources at its command and
when there are willing workers who replenish and rehabilitate
the resources as they get constantly exhausted. With limited
resources and expanding members, a joint family will soon col-
lapse. And it is also ruinous to insist on a joint family with
limited resources to provide relief to an expanding circle of un-
fortunate members.

Localization of Beggary. Thus far we have shown how the
institutions of the Varna and the joint family functioned as agents
for the prevention and minimization of mendicancy. It is well
here to take into account another contributory factor which
operated towards the localization of beggary in old India. This
factor was mainly physical in its nature, but it had its immense
influence on the problems of begging. The conditions of the

1 Kautilya. Bk, II ch. 1. (Shama). It may be also mentioned here that the property
of bereaved minors was safeguarded and improved during their minority by the elders of
the village. See Kautilya. II. 1.

2 Ibid.

A HISTORICAL SURVEY OF BEGGAR RELIEF IN INDIA

time, unassisted by scientific inventions imposed restrictions
on mobility. The powers of space-dissolving steam had not
yet been realized. Further, it is imaginable how old India,
honeycombed with states, big and small, could have no well
co-ordinated system of roads. Locomotion, of even the able-
bodied ones, was limited and hazardous. It is to-day com-
paratively easy for the helpless poor to migrate from one part
of the country to another. Rumours of colossal cities, of gigantic
industries, of unheard of amenities, of the fabulous flow of
capital, attract and concentrate the poor, the helpless and the
vagrant in urban areas like Bombay, Calcutta and Madras.
Ticketless travelling by the railways helps to move these adven-
turous unfortunates over immense distances. But in old India
though poor relief and philanthropy ran amock in pilgrim places,
beggars could not easily cover distances. It was impossible
for a blind man or a lame one in Bangalore to migrate to Benares,
though he knew that he could maintain himself better at the
latter place than at the former by begging. At best, his range
of begging all his life covered about a hundred miles round.
Naturally, the b'eggar became personally known to the local
citizens and the citizens became known to him. Necessarily,
therefore, the problem of mendicancy was localized. Also,
by legislative enactments the movements of vagrants and
strangers were closely watched and restricted. 1 These physical
and legislative restraints on mobility contributed to keep beg-
gars within bounds. Unlike the present situation, beggars in
old India were not massed, though perhaps in a few pilgrim
places, those who could afford to move about a hundred miles
gathered together. The local problem of mendicancy comes
to-day to be concentrated in cities, like Bombay and Calcutta,
due to facilities of transport ; and cities are called upon to bear
the burden of poor relief which should be legitimately distributed
over wide areas and centres. Such a concentration of the men-
dicant problem was non-existent in the past in India. The

1 Read Kautilya's Arthasastra, Bk. II, ch, 34 to 36. " Whoever is provided with
a pass shall be at liberty to enter into, or go out of, the country. Whoever, being a native
of the country, enters into or goes out of the country without a pass shall be fined 12 panas."
(Artha. Bk. II ch. 34).

OUR BEGGAR PROBLEM.

old restrictions against such concentration have disappeared.
In the mass of beggars, we miss the true ones.

Preventive methods of poor relief went a long way in
alleviating human misery in old India. But they alone
could not have sufficed to adequately meet the constant
demand for relief, though they helped to control and
keep within limits the numbers joining the army of beggars.
In spite of all preventive methods of relief there must have been,
many helpless ones and numerous unemployed and hungry
souls who needed assistance from society. What was the nature
and form of relief given to them ? This question leads us to
the consideration of the curative methods of poor relief in India.

Curative Methods : Almsgiving. Curative relief in old
India emanated either from private individuals and institutions
or from the State. Curative relief to the helpless springs from
motives of kindliness, charity and sympathy. Relief to the
helpless blind and lame, to the mentally deformed and defective,
to orphans and the honest unemployed is a duty preached to
all individuals by all religions. In old India there was no lack
of private charity to helpless men, women and children. This
charity took the form of giving alms to any one that came to
beg at one's doors. The things given usually consisted of grain,
cooked food and old clothes, and the helpless came begging
only for these necessities. Alms were never denied to any one
during the morning hours and during the evening hours and
also during meal -time. In the morning hours, householders
usually kept apart a quantity of grain to be given to all those
that came begging. This practice of allocating for beggars a
part of the grain in the household every morning is observed
even now in our ^ conytry. During afternoon and evening
hours almost as a rule only cooked food was given to beggars ;
and it was, and still is, the Indian practice to prepare more food
especially for the purpose of giving away to the helpless poor,
and also to animals and birds. This method of relief was highly
efficient in that it kept alive on the part of the householders
the human sentiments of pity and kindliness and fellowship*
Since it was usually cooked food and old clothes that were given

A HISTORICAL SURVEY OF BEGGAR RELIEF IN INDIA

away the beggars used them almost immediately without having
any idea of amassing and making business out of them. Also
this kind of relief seemed to be continuous and n'6t temporary.

Relief by individuals to the helpless poor was also given
on festive occasions and feast days. When a rich man of the
town or the village celebrated his son's or daughter's marriage,
or when an heir was born to him, he usually fed and distributed
clothes to the poor. This old custom prevails even now in
many parts of the country. The idea of bestowing such gifts
on the poor seems to originate in the feeling that when a man
has an occasion to be specially happy he must endeavour to
make all others about him put off their gloom and share in
his happiness and thus earn their blessings.

Saddvartas. In old India well-to-do persons regularly fed
fifty, a hundred or two hundred or as many persons as came to
be fed, either at his own house or at any temple or at any
public place appointed for the purpose. This custom of regu-
larly feeding persons on every day or on select days was well
known as saddvarta. The tradition was that while a person
had plenty to eat and drink and spare he should see that others
about him did not go hungry. It was generally believed and
the belief is still held that in this life a person enjoys abundance
of comfort because of his charity and liberality towards the
needy during his past life ; if one liberally shares-^ with others
what he has, he will have more yet in lives to 1 come. Wealth
comes to those who righteously spend it. Many Hindus record-
ing to the Hindu traditions are advised to regularly pen<i one
tenth or one twentieth part of their earnings ota efearities. Ac-
cording to the Muslim traditions one should spenxl on philan-
thropic purposes one fortieth of his income. Hoover, in old
India persons regularly gave in charities according 'jbo- their own
capacities. During special months like $rava# among the
Hindus, and Ramzan among the Muslims alms to the poor and
helpless were freely distributed even by these who could not
ordinarily afford to be charitable.

Dharmasdlds and Feeding-houses. Along with the insti
tution of the Saddvarta there was the tradition of constructing

OUR BEGGAR PROBLEM

dharmasdlds for the benefit of the poor. 1 Dharmasdlds were
free homes where lodging, and in sgme cases boarding, was
made available to anyone in need of it. They were
endowed mostly by very rich persons, zamindars and kings.
While some of these homes were attached to temples in old India,
others existed independently and served as powerful agents
and centres of poor relief. Perhaps jamaatkhdnds and langar-
ikhdnds (feeding houses) and mussdffarkhdnds were Muslim proto-
types of dharmasdlds. In the South during the early and media-
eval centuries rich persons, chieftains, and kings built free
feeding houses called uttupuras where pilgrims on their way and
poor persons could have their mess and lodging temporarily.
Of the detailed working and administration of charitable insti-
tutions, of their constitution, of their legal position we have
very scant information. Even to-day some of the old dharma-
dlds exist, and old religious endowments and charities in some
provinces are formally supervised by the government. But the
exact position of old charitable institutions and endowments
at present is not yet a decided question at law.

Orphanages and Hospitals. In old India charities by private
individuals .and bodies were supplemented by State charities.
In times of general distress, like famines, the kings temporarily
established free feeding houses as the Bahamani kings did during
the famines of the 14th century. According to Kautilya, during
famines the king should distribute to his people his own collec-
tion of provisions or the collection of the rich men of the town.
He may also take the help of his neighbouring kings. 2 We have
already spoken of kings granting acres of land, even whole vil-
lages to the poor and deserving Brahmins. 8 Manu says that the
king should always give gifts and do other kinds of charities to
a learned Brahmin, to one who is affected by disease or affliction,
to one whOj is young (an orphan), to him who is very old and

1 Charities among the Hindus were divided into two types, Ishta, which was of a
spiritual character (like offerings and sacrifices), and Purta, which was secular in its nature
comprising the construction of wells, tanks, lakes, temples, giving food, planting public
gardens, etc. Rich men even to-day keep up the practice and tradition of endowing purta*
for the benefit of the public and the poor.

2 Artha. iv. 3.

41 See also Itatitilya, Bk. II. ch. 1.

A HISTORICAL SURVEY OF BEGGAK RELIEF IN INDIA

also to him who is born in a noble family. 1 The king in his private
capacity as an individual and a rich man dispensed gifts and
charities to deserving persons. But being the head, and having
great control of the institution and machinery of the State,
the king was specially required to take care of the destitute and
the helpless. Kautilya also says : " The king shall provide
the orphans, the aged, the infirm, the afflicted, and the helpless
with maintenance. He shall also provide subsistence to help-
less women when they are carrying and also to the children they
give birth to. 2 This statement by Kautilya naturally provokes
the questions : how was relief and maintenance given to the
orphans and the infirm, and poor pregnant women? Where
were all these persons lodged ? Does Kautilya refer to the in-
stitutions of orphanages and infirmaries and maternity homes
with which we are to-day so familiar ? Perverse, indeed, must
that scholar be who in the face of this evidence can have the
dialectical penchant to press the opposite conclusion. Indeed,
history reveals that Asoka endowed many charitable institu-
tions for the benefit of man and animal not only in his own empire
"but also in the territories of friendly independent kingdoms "
(Smith's Hist, of India). Fa-hien, giving an account of the
Gupta Empire during the 5th century, mentions that in the towns
of Magadha charitable institutions were numerous ; and the
capita] possessed an excellent free hospital (Smith's Hist, of
India). There is no doubt that this tradition of endowing charit-
able institutions for the benefit of the poor and infirm has
continued to this day, though on a smaller scale and in spite
of State indifference.

Provision for Employment. The states in old India not
only thus provided relief to the destitute and the helpless but
also provided employment to those who were unemployed and
could work. Here, again, Kautilya is illuminating. He re-
fers to a construction called " working house " (karmagriham)
being enclosed within the fort. 8 Though he does not give details

1. Manu. VIII, 395, Srotriyam vyadhitartau cha balavrlddhavakinchanam, tnahakuli-
mamaryam cha raja sampujayctsada.

2. Kaut. Bk. II, ch. 1.

3, Bk. II, ch, 4.

OUR BEGGAR PROBLEM

pertaining to the " working house" he elsewhere suggests the
existence of " working houses," to provide employment to the
helpless poor, particularly women who could not go about
in search of any legitimate means of livelihood. The words
of Kautilya are worth quoting : " Widows, cripple women,
girls, mendicant or ascetic women, women compelled to work
in default of paying fines, mothers of prostitutes, old women-
servants of the king, and prostitutes who have ceased to attend
temples on service shall be employed to cut wool, fibre, cotton,
panicle, hemp and flax." 1 This means that some sort of work-
houses existed to provide light employment to really helpless
women. The employment of these helpless women was effected
by the State through the medium of the maid servants of the
weaving department of the State. 2 It appears that great regard
was shown to the modesty of these helpless women and also
promptness was observed in the payment of their wages. 3

Spies and Ascetics. The State employed able-bodied persons,
who were in need of means of subsistence, in agricultural pur-
suits and industrial arts. Crown lands were open to cultivation
by slaves, free labourers and prisoners. In old India the State
particularly took care of orphans, dwarfs, the hump-backed
and otherwise deformed and helpless people, and employed
them as spies. 4 These persons were given training in the arts
according to their aptitudes and sent out to do the " under-
world work" of the State. Spies were drawn even from the
ascetic orders. The management and maintenance of the ascetic
spies were left to the supervision of a diplomatic recluse. He
was provided with money and disciples and ordinarily carried
on " agriculture, cattle-rearing and trade on the lands alloted
to him for the purpose." For all practical purposes he was
created a land-lord. Out of the produce and profits thus ac-
quired, this ascetic was required to "provide all ascetics with
subsistence, clothing and lodging, and send on espionage such

1. Bk. II, ch, 23 (Sbama).

2. Ibid.

3. Ibid.

4. Vide whole of Bk. I cb. 11-12, Kautilya.

A HISTORICAL SURVEY OF BEGGAR RELIEF IN INDIA

among those under his protection as are desirous to earn a livelii
hood (vrittikdma)." 1 This provision particularly for the ascetics,
seems to be a special arrangement, made for the subsistence
as well as for the benefit of the State and of the public. The
State would benefit in that the services of the ascetics as spie,s
would be available and the public would benefit in that the as-
cetics would not be social parasites and pests. Sania-
Sastry suggests that the present day bairagis may be survivals
of the ascetic spies in old India. Maybe, with the disintegra-
tion of the old states and the rise and spread of British domina-
tion throughout India the institution of the ascetic spies became
defunct. Since now the State has no use for them, and also,
since no provision is made for ascetics no wonder the bairagis
move along the flags of fashionable cities begging and also flourish
on fortune-telling and guiding the speculations at the exchange
and the turf. 2

From the foregoing account it is evident that beggar relief
in old India was not neglected. The methods of relief expressed
themselves in highly institutionalized devices and ways of living,
which prevented the problem of mendicancy from growing to
unmanageable proportions. The mutual responsibility of the
Varnas to help and maintain one another was insisted upon.
Joint families were looked upon as primary social welfare centres.
Religious tradition and legislation contributed to whip up,
preserve and enforce family responsibility. The greatest feature
of the problem of mendicancy in old India was, that it was loca-
lized. Every region was called upon to solve its own beggar
problem. Naturally, the incidence of beggar relief fell on the
region or area to which the beggars belonged. The citizens
knew the beggars of their locality, and the beggars knew their
benefactors ; personal contact was thus possible between the
two. Also, the State in old India took interest in the weil-

1 . Kan. 1 .11. Compare with this the words of the Committee on Beggar Relief in the
Bombay Presidency, contained in their Report of 1920. "The trend of opinion among
the enlightened heads of Sadhus is that the governance of the Sadhu community should be
entrusted to the hands of the respective religious heads or an assembly thereof, and they may
do yeoman service if they can see on the one hand the spiritual sanctity of their cult preserved
safe and on the other if they can see means to place the entire community on a spiritually
utilitarian principle." P. 2.

2. In Bombay city atone according to the census taken by the Corporation in 1921,
the number of able-bodied bairagis (fakirs and sadhus) was I, $98.

OUR BEGGAE PROBLEM

being of the poor and the helpless. One would wish that it had
not taken care of orphans and the deformed with a view to uti-
lize their services as spies. It would have been better if it had
employed them in nobler and more elevating occupations. Per^
haps, in those days, it was thought that the orphans and the
deformed and the otherwise helpless, being unable to earn a
living by and for themselves in any other way, would be faith-
fully attached to the State and thus be excellent and sincere
members of the criminal and secret intelligence departments
of the State. However, it must be said that the relief and em-
ployment afforded to the helpless, though they did certainly
alleviate the sufferings of the poor by answering to their animal
needs did not, except in rare cases, conduce towards the un-
folding of their personality. It is true that in the case of
beggars their animal needs are exhibited in glaring relief. Their
lean sides, their lack-lustre eyes, their hungry mouths clamour
for food. Their gaunt structures claim the passing tribute of
rags. In the sight of this appalling misery one is apt to throw
food and old clothes at them and escape to brighter scenes with
the secret satisfaction of beneficence being rendered unto the
poor children of God. The philanthropist is apt to treat beg-
gars as kindly as he treats animals. He forgets that beggars
though they want their animal needs to be urgently satisfied,
are not animals. Beggars are persons. Relief is that which
not only temporarily removes hindrances in the way of living
but creates permanent advantages and channels for good-living.
Relief is not mere negative aid but positive uplift. Mere exis-
tence we assure even to the lower animals. Somewhat more
than crumbs and clothes are due to man. The new civilization
has destroyed oldh institutions. The varna obligations have
become anachronistic. The joint family is disorganized. Old
charitable organizations like the dharmasalas have become
effete and functionless. The competitive industrial economy of
our times which has ousted the old co-operative rural economy
from its place engages man in a ruthless struggle for existence.
Mobility is bidding fair to outgrow the dimensions. And the
State throws up its hands and disclaims its responsibility for
86

HISTORICAL SURVEY OF BEGGAR RELIEF IN INDIA

the growth of beggars. Until our present competitive economy
is changed, until new social obligations are instituted and mobi-
lity is controlled to localize beggary and the State throws off
its indifference and rehabilitates old charitable institutions along
new lines, the hydra of mendicancy may well await the coming
of its Hercules and lolas.

FROM CHARITY TO SOCIAL WORK

' Social ^'ork in India," according to the late Dr. P. M.
Titus, "still remains on the medieval level. An attempt is here
made to trace the story of the evolution of charity to the
organized social work of the modern day. Perhaps such a
description will help us analyse and judge our own charities in
India in comparison with western charities and see where we
stand and whither we are going/'

CHARITY is as old as history. In its extensiveness it is
universal. We see it among the most primitive as well
as the most civilized. Its range is unlimited. It varies
from the practice of giving indiscriminate alms to highly
organized institutional care and well developed scientific social
work. The evolution of charity through different intermediate
stages in to the present day professional social work as we find
it in many of the western countries is worthy of study and inves-
tigation. This is all the more important as we notice a general
parallelism in the growth of charity in the West and in India,
up to a certain point. One may even venture to say that as

OUR BEGGAR PROBLEM

against the modern advance in the West, social work in India
still remains on the medieval level. An attempt is here made
to trace the story of the evolution of charity to the organized
social work of the modern day. Perhaps such a description
will help us analyze and judge our own charities in India in
comparison with Western charities and see where we stand and
whither we are going.

Social work, privately organized, does for the poor man
what a well-to-do man seeks to do for himself, with the assistance
of a number of advisers for whose services he pays or upon whose
friendship he relies. It is the channel through which philan-
thropy seeks to mitigate most directly those consequences of
social process which are unfortunate in their effect upon certain
groups and certain individuals. Public Social Welfare is the
resultant ultimate recognition by the State of the necessity
and usefulness of such services for the welfare of the community
at large. That which has been done through private initiative
and was supported by voluntary contributions is taken over
by the State, supported by taxes and thus made secure and
permanent.

The most characteristic elements of charity are doubtless
derived from the feelings and experiences associated with family
life. The term charity was first applied to the extension of
social obligations beyond the immediate circle of kinship. But
whether in a tribal group, religious body or political organiza-
tion the main idea was that charity was an expression of the
primary group feeling. " Taking care of our own " seems to
have been the guiding motive in all charity work. Charity was
always associated with religion. When it acquired the sanction
of religion, it became a personal virtue, a religious duty and a
social utility. At its best, charity has been the overt expression
of the ethical impulse of the sensitive man to identify himself
with the needs and sufferings of his fellowman. It represents
the application of the golden rule in social relations ; the practice
of " Dharma " in responsible living. Judaism, Christianity,
Buddhism, Hinduism, Islam and all other world religions have
exhorted their respective members to give charity. But in

FROM CHARITY TO SOCIAL WORK

actual practice, and in the development of organized charities
throughout the ages, we find that extension was possible only
by changing the note from pure altruism to personal gain. The
doctrine of the religious merit of alms-giving became the corner-
stone of all charities of the Christian churches in the West up
to the 16th century.

In its early stage, the philanthropy of the church was mainly
due to a natural sense of solidarity in a numerically weak com-
munity living in a hostile world. The eschatological hope had
also created a heedlessness for any earthly care or possessions.
But with the passing of the eschatological hope, with waning
of the feeling that the Christian was only a temporary sojourner
in this strange world, when the expectation of the speedy return
of the Lord receded, much of the enthusiasm for open-handed
philanthropy ceased. Moral exhortations were not enough
to enlist support for charitable work. At the same time, the
need for charity became greater. Individuals had to be coaxed
to give alms by offering some personal gain for this voluntary
act of mercy. Forgiveness of personal sins and ensuring the
salvation of one's soul were offered in exchange for liberal con-
tributions to church charities. " If there were no poor, the
greater part of your sins would not be removed ; they are the
healers of your wounds;" so said St. Chrysostum. Almsgiving
was the patent medicine for the cure of the disease of sin. Thus,
aiding the poor was not an end in itself, but a means by which
the almsgiver effected his own ulterior purposes of saving his
soul and " made God his debtor." The worst part of such a
practice was that there was complete disregard of the effect
of such indiscriminate almsgiving upon the individual bene-
ficiary. Almsgiving became impersonal. While the doctrine
stimulated a spirit of self-sacrifice and of helpfulness, it encourag-
ed begging and idleness. The usefulness of the spreading of
the doctrine of the religious merit of almsgiving was that it
served the development of extensive philanthropy and led to
the relief of much suffering in a day when everyone lived in
his own little neighbourhood group and regarded all outsiders
with suspicion. The good work of caring for the poor was to

OUE BEGGAR PROBLEM

be carried on. Perhaps the most effective way to get support
was to offer the reward of salvation which was believed to be
within the province of the church to grant.

The principal agencies of relief which were organized in
those days under the auspices of the church were the monas-
teries, the hospital orders, the hospitals which grew out of the
earlier zenodochia, the religious fraternities, the alms of indivi-
duals and the religious loan banks. Care of the poor, visiting
the sick, lending money at low rates of interest, and similar
eleemosynary activities were the main features of these
ecclesiastical charity institutions in the Middle Ages.

Apart from the institutional charities of the church, we find
a system of well organised mutual aid practised in the medieval
communities. The social structure of the middle ages may be
described as an enormous number of small and practically in-
dependent units. Within these local groups, be it manor, parish,
guild, or religious community p everyone was intimately acquaint-
ed with everyone else. There was a sort of primary group rela-
tionship and mutual aid was as natural and spontaneous as it
could be under such circumstances. Self-sufficient, isolated,
fixed social units, organized for self-preservation and mutual
support within their respective limits, served as dynamic centers
of socialization and mutuality. But the circle was limited and
relation with outsiders and members of other communities was
usually one of hostility. There was little social contact with
people beyond the local group in which they lived, worked,
played and worshipped. There was no need for organized
charity, because misfortunes were not faced individually but
collectively. The burden was shared by all neighbours. Very
similar to the manor, and sometimes identical with it, was the
parish. Priests were to take tithes from the parishioners and a
third of the amount received they were " in all humanity merci-
fully to distribute with their own hands for the use of the poor
and strangers." It was not lack of mutual aid within the parish
that necessitated this form of organized charity. This form of
charity was meant for those strangers in the parish who were
detached from their own primary groups.

FROM CHARITY TO SOCIAL WORK

The medieval guilds were a sort of closed corporations of
monopoly within which there was a close community of interests.
Mutual aid and neighbourliness were as simple and unaffected
within the guilds as in any other .primary group. But relief was
given almost exclusively to members of the respective guilds.

Thus, the secular units of organizations cared for their
own by practising simple neighbourliness. The ecclesiastical
charities took care of ,the needy strangers through institutional
care and open almsgiving. The source of support for the latter
was voluntary donations collected by appealing to individual
desire for personal salvation. It was ameliorative and not con-
st ructive ; curative and not preventive. There was no thought
of reconstruction of society to eradicate the institution of beg-
gary. In fact, for the salvation of the souls of the rich donors
of charity, poor recipients of alms were necessary.

" The established folk saw in the wanderers means of divine
grace for themselves. The unfortunate and the needy were
regarded as an asset ! It was not necessary to put themselves

in the places of the poor On the other hand, the beggars

saw in the rich simply possible sources of food and clothing.
On neither side was there recognition of human personality
in its richeness and fullness. The mental image was a highly
refined abstraction rather than a recognition of man as man."

Howsoever reprehensible such an attitude might be, one
should not overlook the fact that medieval religion as such,
never lost sight of the social obligation of caring for the poor.
The expression of social consciousness in those days, consistent
with the mood of the times, was not so refined and enlightened
as to be normative for all times.

But society could not remain static. Social changes had to
come. The old feudal fixed and isolated communities were to
break down due to pressure of political, economic, social and
religious changes. Increase of commerce, during and after the
Crusades, gave rise to the growth of innumerable towns. Rise
of nationalism knocked out the already weak props of feudalism.
The abuses of the church, especially in the field of raising funds
for church charities by selling " indulgences " brought in the

OUR BEGGAE PBOBLEM

Protestant revolution. Thus, different social and political units
were organized in the West on the lines of new cleavage that
came in after the middle ages. These radical social changes
had their effect on the development and organization of charity
in western countries in the subsequent period.

With the rise of the townships, there came the organzation
and growth of municipal charities. With a larger and more
heterogeneous population, much more mobile and extensive than
medieval group, the need for organized charities on secular lines
became a necessity. The early municipal charities were more
personal than the indiscriminate almsgiving that preceded and
accompanied them ; they were less personal than the mutual
aid of the simpler group. But the change was more important,
in that it was both a transfer of power to a secular civic body
and also an assumption of responsibility by a geographical com-
munity, rather than by an exclusive religious fraternity or voca-
tional guild. It was the extension of the principle of municipal
charity that subsequently developed into the public charities of
the State. After the Industrial Revolution, when life in the
industrial centres became extremely impersonal, and when the
population in such areas became heteorgeneous and mobile,
such public charities became indispensable. Dissolution of early
forms of church charities left the poor without any door to go
to. Political and economic changes set loose a vast mass of
uprooted humanity. Repressive measures proved to be abor-
tive. Necessity, as well as civic consciousness, led to the initia-
tion of public assistance in the early days.

Another important factor to be reckoned with is the Protest-
tant Reformation. Breaking away from the Mother Church,
Protestantism developed new strands of thought and behaviour.
It put the individual at the centre both in regard to personal
moral responsibility and social duty. The revulsion against the
old theory of personal reward for charitable work was great.
The ground work of the theory of charity was recast. The con-
ception of personal reward here or hereafter to the donor of
charity was eliminated. The deed was good only in the same
sense in which the doer was good ; it had in it no intrinsic merit.

FROM CHARITY TO SOCIAL WORK

The appeal of charity was to the moral and social consciousness of
the individual. Private charity of Prostestant churches in the
West thus developed as a result of the moral and social cons-
ciousness of their members. The basis of charity thus became
the needs of the recipients of charity rather than the benefits
the donor might acquire by giving charity. Charity was inter-
preted as contributive to the welfare of the community at large.

This new orientation revolutionized the philosophy and
technique of charity. The Protestant Reformation together
with the growth of urban areas with their incidental complexity
and social problems, initiated new kinds of charity. In fact,
charity graduated into a more sensible form of constructive social
work. The origin and growth of the English Poor Law of the
17th century is an illustration. It developed a new technique.
The English Poor Law represents the development of a conscious-
ness of national responsibility for dealing with the problem of
poverty. Begging was repressed. In the earlier stages it or-
ganized, regulated and defined the relief which was actually
administered by the units of local government. Later it orga-
nized a national system of relief. Finally it led to old age pen-
sions, and health and unemployment insurance as parts of a
national programme to diminish the amount of poverty and
misery.

Another contribution of the English Poor Law system was
the gradual development of a consciousness of the futility of
mere relief. The case-work method in social work evolved out
of the experiences of the administrators of poor relief.

It must also be mentioned that the growth of the democratic
tradition contributed a great deal towards the new outlook
and interpretation of charity. The older method of benevolent
patronizing of throwing crumbs to the poor was no longer
consistent with the democratic ideology. It was to be social
work work to salvage society from disintegration and chaos
arising out of inequality and callousness. Provision of decent
standard of living for all citizens was accepted as one of the
cardinal principles and goals of the democratic way of life.
Individual needs were not to be only temporarily ameliorated;

OUR BEGGAR PROBLEM

the community was to be built up by taking care of all the fac-
tors and elements that go to make up a good community.

Alongside of the development of such a trend of thought,
new problems in greater magnitude began to confront social
workers. The rise of capitalism, especially after the Industrial
Revolution, challenged all social thinkers with various problems.
The growth of industrial and commercial centres brought to-
gether a large concourse of working class people into congested
areas. The insanitary factories, crowded houses, long hours,
low wages, employment of women and young children, periods
of industrial depression accompanied by unemployment and
monotonous existence, presented a real challenge to those in-
terested in their fellowmen. Along with these new problems
came the breakdown of customs, habits and morals. There was
general social disorganization.

The recognized tasks that the Industrial Revolution set
for 19th century social work included : protection of health
through sanitation of factories, housing and medical service;
provision of regular employment with adequate remuneration ;
provision for disability and old age ; protection of children ;
education ; recreation ; prevention of racial conflicts ; care of
the new immigrants and all sorts of other new problems which
were not present or at least were not recognized in the old order
of society. There was to be a new basis of social organization.
Different groups, classes and interests responded to this
new situation with different methods of treatment and varying
motives. The exploited victims of the new factory system
began to organize and revolt against the injustices they had to
suffer. As a result of social agitation both by the workers them-
selves and also by "socially conscious philanthropists and social
workers, social legislation was enacted for the protection of the
disadvantaged classes. There was also the organisation of
social work by the middle class "uplifters."

The religious groups Protestant, Catholic and Jewish
established many social service agencies to take care of the
needy among their respective communicants. Protestant Chur-
ches, especially of the Calvinistic tradition, started many insti-

BOMBAY FOOT-PATH NUISANCE

"Use Foot-paths only*' we are advised, but where are the foot-
paths to walk upon? It is a common sight that Bombay foot-
paths are generally occupied by beggars, hawkers etc., and it
is useless asking the public to use them, unless they are free
from these kinds of encroachments.

The picture shows a beggar occupying the footpath,
the piece of cloth spread, just "to reserve his area"

Note

OLD SADHU

Like the "Old man of the ea" in Sindbad's Fable, this old Sadhu
displays for any alms that " may be given, his long matted hair, which
trails on the ground, and which he hangs across his arm when moving about.

FROM CHARITY TO SOCIAL WORK

tutions, like Neighbourhood Houses and Social Settlements, to
promote activities in community-building. Many non-sec-
tarian agencies were started by the Protestant laity.

There was also a line of pseudo-philanthropy which extended
charity to " keep the workers contented." During John Wesley*^
days, the aristocratic group in England, so jt is told, resented
the social service programme very much in the beginning. But
they were gratified and co-operated when they recognized tliat
Wesley's programme had saved England from an economic
revolution by the uprising of the disinherited masses. Evert
to-day we see instances of such pseudo-philanthropy, seeking
to maintain the status quo rather than eradicate social evils.
Many a gift to charity has been part of an effort to make the
feudalism of industry benevolent and therefore acceptable
and at the same time to preserve its feudal status. This kind
of benevolence has often prevented the growth of economic
democracy.

Numerous industrial concerns set up welfare departments
of their own for the benefit of their employees. Such work
often savoured more of gratuity and patronage than of co-opera-
tion ; of benevolence rather than justice. Some of the labour
leaders in America interpreted such welfare work as chloro-
forming the workers, keeping them from organizing. But so
long as capitalistic industrial organization is continued on a
feudal basis, such welfare work at its best is something done
by employers for their employees because of real 'humanitarian
interest in the workmen for their own sake. At its worst, it
is a scheme for more complete control of the working people
by the owners of industry a mere camouflage for exploitation.

There was also a widespread soft sentimentalism in those
days which gave opportunities for many a Lady Bountiful to
go around visiting the poor with baskets of provisions. This
afforded opportunities for social climbers and political oppor-
tunists. To be the chairman of some committee fot social
service, to be advertised as a generous contributor to good causes,
and such other ostensible interests in social service were accre-
dited means to gain titles and wide social recognition* '

OUR BEGGAR PROBLEM

But after we have discounted the social climbers, the cheap
politicians, and the Ladies Bountiful and the poseurs, and given
recognition to the truly benevolent bourgeoisie, there is to be
noted a band of genuine social workers for whom social work
ivas not merely charity, but also public service. For them
it was not a spare-time diversion nor a means to some
private end. It was a full-time job to which steady application
and whole-hearted devotion were spontaneous and essential.

The appalling conditions of the poor and the lack of any
co-ordination and co-operation between the many private societies
that sprung up in the early days led to over-indulgence, neglect,
fraud and all other kinds of abuses. The Charity Organisation
Movement of the latter part of the last century was an effort
to improve the condition of the poor and co-ordinate the existing
societies. The Charity Organization Societies which were started
with very modest ambitions contributed a great deal to the field
of modern social work. The C. O. S. helped in the correlation
of many agencies. It organized a system of relief which eliminated
^duplication and neglect. Perhaps the greatest contribution of
the C. O. S. has been the development of what is called today
the " case method " of analysing and treating human problems.
The study and treatment of each individual and family as a
unique problem by the " case method " made social work more
intimate, personal and effective. The emergence of social work
as a well defined profession and the growing emphasis laid on
professional qualifications for social workers may be traced back
to the C. O. S.

With the increasing number of social service agencies in the
modern era there was greater necessity for co-ordination of these
agencies. A group of agencies began to specialize in co-ordinating
and unifying social work. Conferences national, regional, state
and local served to weld together social workers and create
common interests. Professional and functional organizations
also furthered unity and recognized standards. Councils of
social agencies, organized in major cities, now develop co-opera-
tion, help in raising standards of work, do research work and
encourage central planning. Financial federations, like Com*

FROM CHARITY TO SOCIAL WORK

munity Chests and Community Trusts, are organized for co-
operative budget-making and money-raising in most of the
important western cities. Foundations with large assets have
been established to support organized philanthropy and social
work.

Diversity of social problems demanded specialized forms of
treatment. Social work began to get defined in different specializ-
ed forms. The catch-all charitable institutions of early days gave
way to specialized services under professional leadership. This
led to the development of many functional groupings such as
family service and relief agencies ; agencies for the care of the
aged ; different types of services to children, such as foster-home
care, institutional care for the destitute, disabled and handicapped
juvenile court work ; employment and vocational guidance ;
protective services ; group work, recreation and informal educa-
tion ; different types of health services ; industrial welfare work,
etc. If we glance through the social service directory of any of
the major cities in the West, we discover the highly developed
functional organization of private social work.

Alongside of the development of specialization of services
came specialization of techniques. This led to the professionaliza-
tion of social work, and professional schools for training social
workers were started. Organizing ability and expert training
became more important than strong sentiment and " inspired "
leadership. Social workers today are expected to have refined
technical skill.

Emphasis has been laid by private social agencies on pre-
ventive and constructive measures. Social investigation and
surveys have been made to furnish the basis of remedial and
preventive activities as well as to educate the public on social
needs.

The benefits of co-operation between private social agencies
cannot be over-emphasized. In the matter of raising funds
alone, we find that organization of community chests for the
joint-financing of private social agencies in the major cities of
America has been extremely helpful. Community chests were
organized to avoid duplication of effort and equipment, and

OUR BEGGAR PROBLEM

reduce competition and expense in money-raising. The annual
concerted drive for the support of co-operating social agencies
has helped in the raising of larger amounts and also avoiding
confusion and restiveness in the minds of the subscribing public.
The appreciation of the success of such efforts in joint financing
is revealed in the rapid growth in the number of community
chests.

Community Chests and Amounts Raised, 1914-31

Year. Number of diesis in Amount raised annually

existence. in dollars.

1914 1 22,437

1919 12 14,224,740

1924 180 48,850,000

1929 329 72,743,910

1930 363 75,108,792

1931 377 83,213,428

The number of community chests has increased since 1931
and almost all the major cities have such joint-financing agencies.
The chest is accepted today as a permanent method of financing
social work. All evidence indicates that it has stimulated
systematic giving for social welfare activities.

Community trusts which have developed in the United
States within the last 30 years are for the support of local activities.
In the case of trusts the fund is permanent rather than annually
collected and expended. Contributions are made to the trusts
either in the form of gifts or bequests. More than 75 cities had
set up community trusts by 1931, and their aggregate funds
amount to more than $35,000,000. In addition to this there
are Philanthropic Foundations with heavy endowments. In
1931 there were 350 such Foundations. The total assets of the
20 largest Foundations in that year amounted to about
$860,000,000.

The amount of money contributed annually through
voluntary subscriptions for recurring expenses for the private
social agencies in the large cities may be illustrated by taking

100

FROM CHARITY TO SOCIAL WORK

a single city like Chicago. Chicago with a population of nearly
3-| millions has some 500 private social agencies. The financial
statements of 262 of the more important of the 500 agencies show
that including capital gifts a total of 11 million dollars were
contributed through voluntary subscriptions in 1938. If the
total contributions for all the 500 agencies of Chicago were taken,
we could safely assume that the annual per capita voluntary
contribution for private social agencies in Chicago was $5.00
that year. The per capita giving to organized social work in
Chicago is exceeded by most of the major centres of population
in the United States.

The story of the evolution and development of private chari-
ties in the Western countries is, in general, the story of the growth
of community consciousness. Private charities have not been
content in continuing their services for all time depending on
voluntary contributions of private citizens. In the course of
history we find that the isolated philanthropy of one generation
became the organized charity of the next, and finally a public
charge. Private social agencies have been instrumental in the
promotion of much progressive social legislation. The policy
has generally been to initiate a variety of socially necessary
services, experiment with methods of administration and then
seek to secure permanent financial support from tax-funds when
the services appear to be a legitimate public undertaking. The
absorption of social service activities as a part of public adminis-
tration has been going on at an accelerated rate during the last
two decades. The private agencies of to-day both supplement
the public welfare agencies and blaze new trails. The relation-
ship is not competitive but co-operative. It is recognized that
in experimenting, promoting and maintaining standards, in
using imagination and a flexible approach to social problems,
the private organization has a great advantage.

In the field of public welfare, the underlying concepts and
philosophy have undergone revision, away from the old con-
descending charity and philanthropy to the newer ideals of
democratic service. The theory that the tax-payers of the
community must provide the necessities of life for those unable

101

OUR BEGGAR PROBLEM

to provide such necessities for themselves is accepted today as
sound and valid in democratic countries.

The advance made in this direction can be noticed when
we look at the list of public assistance programmes undertaken
by governments both in Europe and America. Towards
guaranteeing social security, unemployment insurance, old-age
pensions, blind persons* pensions, family endowments and allied
measures have already been taken. Statutory regulation of
wages and hours of work in factories has been initiated to protect
the workers from exploitation. National health insurance schemes
are already functioning. Public housing projects have been
started to rehouse the slum-dwellers in decent quarters. Large
amounts of money are spent for public relief. Institutions of
all kinds to take care of the dependent, destitute and handicapped
are maintained at public cost.

Since 1933, after initiation of the New Deal Programme by
President Roosevelt, public welfare activities have increased
extensively in the United States. Humanitarianism, together
with a more sincere effort to translate the ideals of democracy
into concrete action, have inspired the modern developments
in America. Social welfare has, at least, been fully accepted as
one of the recognized objectives of the National Government.
The best defence of democracy is increasingly recognized as
democracy itself.

In the light of this brief history of charities in Western
countries, we can judge the status of our own charities. Much
of our charity is still based on the doctrine of the religious merit
of almsgiving. It is shocking to hear a Hindu Mayor of a large
city objecting to a scheme for the elimination of beggary by
establishing a poor htmse on the ground that such an action will
be prejudicial to Hindu religion and Indian culture. He main-
tains that if the poor are not in the easy reach of the public, the
latter will not have opportunities to give alms and thereby
obtain religious merit. He wants to keep them in our midst
to keep us humble. As in Medieval Europe, indiscriminate
almsgiving is continued here in India without any regard for the
consequences so far as the recipients are concerned. Much of

102

FROM CHARITY TO SOCIAL WORK

the misery and suffering of the poor are interpreted in terms of
" karma " or " kismet ". Institutional charities are organized
on communal lines rather than on a community basis. Com-
paratively, our public welfare programmes are far too thin and
halting. We often boast of our old culture and are maintaining
that the Indian concept of society is that of an organic unity.
We often repeat to ourselves that " Dharma" reveals the out
of India. But Dharma in practice is far from being satisfactory.

To be sure there is much talk 011 political platforms about
the sad fate of the " dumb millions " of India. Different panaceas
are suggested by different groups and different persons. Many
programmes give evidence of little thought, and very often one
suspects there is too much concern to be original rather than be
practical. The rise of Nationalism has made us turn our back
on everything alien. To be lamenting over the good old days
of glory and contentment, to find a scapegoat for all our ills and
then go about with slogans, " back to the villages ", " back to
handicrafts ", " back to our own culture ", are not going to get
us anywhere. We cannot go back even if we want to. We
are not living in isolation. Times have changed and the world
lias changed. Intelligent planning means the use of the accu-
mulated wisdom of all times and all climes and then to try to
solve our problems in the light of such wisdom and knowledge.

What can we do ? So far as the expansion of public social
welfare programmes are concerned, times and circumstances
arc such that we cannot do much in the immediate present.
Unemployment insurance, old age pensions, health insurance,
blind pensions, and such other social security programmes are
beyond our immediate scope. It is in the field of private charities
that we can do something. Today private charities are all un-
organized without any co-ordination or co-operation. We can
respect the individuality and independence of each and every
separate institution, and yet organize on a sound basis, if only
we are willing to co-operate. If we are incapable of co-operating
in our activities which are essentially the expressions of our
humanitarian impulses, is there any hope of our co-operation
in any other field ? It is by working together that we create

103

OUR BEGGAR PROBLEM

unity and esprit de corps. Co-operation in the organization
of private charities is one of the best and most feasible programmes
we can launch forth because the motives and goals of the
various organizations are the same, viz., the amelioration of
human suffering.

It is the major cities that can take the lead in this direction.
Here in Bombay there are about five hundred charity agencies.
There is no co-ordination, no co-operation, no sharing of ex-
periences, no co-operative discussion of problems. We have not
yet begun to think in terms of Bombay City as a whole as an
urban community. Parsees, Hindus, Muslims, and other com-
munities run their respective charity institutions to render aid
to the needy in their own communities. The first thing we can
do is to organize a Council of Social Agencies, enlisting as members
as many charity institutions as are willing to affiliate. This
Council can start out as a fact-finding and consultative body,
with a professionally efficient staiL The Councils of Social
Agencies in the major cities of the West are composed of member
institutions which are as varied as they are here. But they have
learned by experience the value of such co-operation, so that
majority of the institutions belong to such councils.

Such a Council, if and when organized, can initiate a plan
for the financing of social agencies in Bombay. Now each
institution is dependent on the good-will of a specific limited
constituency of supporters. At the same time philanthropically
inclined people are bothered too often and by too many different
institutions with appeals for funds for this or that institution.
A City Fund on the lines of the Community Chests in America
can easily be organized to make the present operation of agencies
more secure and also to avoid confusion in the minds of subscribers
to charity agencies. A concerted drive for funds, with sufficient
data gathered to educate the public about the social needs of the
City, will certainly bring in larger funds and many other intangible
results. The urgent need is to have a co-operative body of social
workers to launch a programme of public education in regard
to the urgent needs of social work in the city.

There is enough cosmopolitanism and broad-mindedness

104

FROM CHARITY TO SOCIAL WORK

in Bombay to take the initiative in this matter. Bombay can
lead the way for other major cities to follow. Nowhere have we
seen any instance of any evil arising out of co-operative activity.
There is no reason to believe that there will be any danger if we
try such an experiment in the field of social work. The only
question is whether we have sufficient good-will, imagination
and public-mindedness to begin.

105

THE CITIZEN AND SCIENTIFIC
PHILANTHROPY

" In a country like India where population is large and
badly housed, the standard of health low, illiteracy extensive,
the woman suffering from various handicaps and the child
neglected, public and organised efforts should be directed
towards the restoration of a sane social life" writes Dr. B. H.
Mehta. But our present methods of giving relief are outmoded
and he, therefore, rightly pleads for a scientific basis for
philanthropy.

THE word charity must be occurring in every language.
The primitive man and the barbarian knew of charity in
some form. The wqrkingman in the slum knows the
meaning of giving, and even the beggar is known to share his
little with his brother in want. It is generally believed that the
injunction ' to give ' was given by religion. However, man,
being an irrational animal, has given because of a spontaneous,
emotional urge ; charity yielded its emotional dividend in terms
of satisfaction felt by the giver. This will to give was further
emphasised by religion, and charity became a stepping stone
to spiritual uplift and it promised to restore a balance between
this world and the one that was believed to come next.

107

OUR BEGGAR PROBLEM

The forms of charity were not conditioned by the capacity
of the giver, and as charity became a habit, it was practised
indiscriminately by millions at every time and in odd places. In
oriental countries charity has become a universal aspect of daily
life. In India charity is all-pervasive and is practised by every
community. It is so extensively indulged in that it has almost
become an evil. In the West, too, Christianity has not
failed to stress the importance of giving in the ordinary life of
man.

It can be easily seen that charity occurs most where there
is wide-spread poverty. Alms -giving was a common and easy
practice in feudal times where the rich and poor classes were
so sharply divided. The business communities too practised
charity because they believed that they must give because they
get. The beginning of the industrial era saw the birth of a new
type of mass poverty, and it led to the origin of other forms of
charity. Today, charity prevails in countries which are governed
by the principle of laissez-faire. Charity can function indis-
criminately in societies where the individual is free to accumulate
wealth and property and is also free to dispose of these according
to his judgment. A new phase began when law and the govern-
ment stepped in first to control and then to direct charity. In
some States charity was even enforced by law in the name of
taxation.

Today, with a war, which aims not only to decide the fate
of nations and the forms of government that are best suited to
promote human welfare, but indirectly also to alter the basic
beliefs and fundamental outlooks of humanity so that relations
between man and man may be redefined, the problem of charity
must also take on a jiew meaning and be made to fit into the type
of the new world that is being born. Even at the end of the last
war, charity received a new interpretation in certain countries.
Soviet Russia, by ending or restricting the possession of private
property, limited the possibility of distribution of surplus wealth
according to the wish of the owner. By providing employment
and at least the bare needs of existence an attempt was made
for the complete eradication of poverty. The new interpretation

108

THE CITIZEN AND SCIENTIFIC PHILANTHROPY

given to religion undoubtedly affected the religious impulse
towards charity.

The Soviet experiment is a mere indication of the trend of
human thought and outlook in the present century. There is
almost a universal recognition of the need for a better application
of the principle of social justice. The eradication of poverty is
put as a first charge on the shoulders of any civilised government.
The State is gradually assuming the full responsibility for the
welfare of every citizen, removing the burden of voluntary
obligations undertaken by public organisations and private
individuals. Even where there is accumulation of private pro-
perty, governments are attempting to control them by imposing
heavy death duties and graded taxation. The spread of educa-
tion and the removal of State interference in religious matters
are gradually rationalising religious thought and sentiment.

Recognising the above trend in human affairs in relation to
the practice of charity, it will be evident that the ideal condition
in society will be the gradual elimination of the need of charity
as the masses come into their own and are able to live in dignity
and self-respect on the fruits of their own labour. The practice
of charity may be prohibited by law as states recognise the need
of scientific measures to promote human welfare. Leaving aside
the considerations of the ideal, and not knowing the nature of
world organisation that will emerge at the end of the present
war, we may consider the immediate remedies and measures that
should be undertaken in India to divert charity into proper
channels and to take care of the most needy.

In the first instance, it is necessary to understand charity
as it prevails amongst the masses and the middle classes. In
almost all the cases, the giver and the receiver are both moved
by impulse. The giver experiences a feeling of pity and sympathy
for the poor, the depressed. The sympathy is translated into
action and alms are given in terms of money or articles. The
receiver in all cases is classed as poor, though very often economic
poverty is caused by or accompanied with different types of
handicap. The sympathy of the giver is enlisted by the receiver
by demonstrating the nature of the handicap and its conse-

109

CUE BEGGAR PROBLEM

cjuences upon his own life. This is generally one phase, and an
important phase of the beggar problem.

The intensity of the problem and even the nature of it differ
regionally, but in almost all cases the considerations are the same.
In science, the solution of a problem should be discovered and
suggested in terms of the root-causes. A mere analysis will
lead us into a futile controversy. It is difficult to find out whether
the beggar class emerges first into the social arena, or whether
there is in existence an army of givers who have a store of
emotions which needs to be directed to those who are in need of
sympathy. A solution can only be reached if action is directed
towards both the giver and the receiver.

An average individual acts first and thinks afterwards ;
he may be excused if he allows his feelings and sentiments to lead
him into action which gives him immediate relief and satisfaction
without making him realise that it may cause social demoralisa-
tion, and injure the self-respect and personality of the recipients
of his favour. It is well known that even persons who are capable
of adequate reasoning and who know that chaotic philanthropy
encourages public beggary and is socially harmful, do give charity
in spite of this knowledge; their sentiments awe into silence their
casual reasoning. Incessant and intensive public education is
one of the fundamental remedies. The second remedy is a
provision of substitute channels for the diversion of charity.
It is, however, found that substitute channels only work when
there is generally a fair level of intelligence amongst the class of
donors. In the absence of this intelligence, the mere sight of
the blind, the lame, the aged, the woman with the baby in arms,
or the leper will open even the half-empty purse of the ordinary
workman. Substitute channels unfortunately do not have the
same appeal, and besides there is invariably a want of confidence
on the part of the giver for help given by him which is not received
directly by the afflicted, .

However difficult this problem may be, much of the indis-
criminate small public charity can be diverted into more useful
channels if religion, which once promoted indiscriminate charity,
comes to the aid of the newer methods of charity organization.

110

THE CITIZEN AND SCIENTIFIC PHILANTHROPY

Religion, which once rightly extolled the feeling of giving and
explained renunciation as an important form of spirituality,
must now analyse its own previous injunction, and explain to
the layman the real meaning of charity in terms of modern social
organization and evolution. It is true that blessed are those
who feed the hungry and clothe the naked, but thrice blessed
are those who help to eliminate hunger and see to it that all who
are in need, have their needs fulfilled in the same manner as
their own needs are fulfilled. Religion, which once enjoined indivi-
dual philanthropy, must now stand up for the establishment
of social justice and for righting those wrongs that were caused
by a virulent disorganization in the socio-economic structure
of human society. With the establishment of even partial social
justice and with the enforcement of equality of opportunity
in the mundane world, the spiritual evolution of mankind is
bound to progress a good deal.

The discussion of the bearing of religion on private philan-
thropy leads us into consideration of the religious mendicancy
itself. In a country like India where both the major religions
have extolled the ' sanyasi ' and the ' fakir ', beggary is bound
to be looked upon as a noble form of spirituality. It is a privilege
which merits Heaven to feed, clothe and house the man who
pretends to have removed the maya of this earth in order to serve
that unknown world in which the believer has unbounded faith.
Such beliefs have encouraged the emergence in this country and
other oriental countries of millions of religious mendicants who
are daily fed, clothed and supplied with extravagant goods by
the credulous and the unwary. Sacred temples have become the
haunts of thousands of able-bodied and well-nourished human
beings who renounce work and prey on the noble sentiments
of charity and spirituality of the ignorant laity. This problem
of religious mendicancy almost baffles a solution. It is fortunate
that genuine and far-sighted leadership in the country in the
fields of religion, society and politics have realised this grave
menace which indirectly aids and abets the growth of another
type of beggar class. It is obvious that a foreign government,
or a government not entirely free of foreign domination, cannot

111

OUR BEGGAR PROBLEM

run the risk of tampering with a problem which may lead even
to riots and disturbances, but perhaps the national government
of the future, moved by a missionary zeal to solve some of our
complicated problems that have baffled us and can only be dealt
with by honest and fearless leadership, may, with firm and
uncompromising legislative action, face this situation too.

As long as the beggar and the religious mendicant are part
of a human society, it will be readily seen that methods other than
private philanthropy will have to be applied as remedies. The
beggar may be institutionalised or segregated. He may be de-
tained in prison or looked after in a hospital, workhouse or alms-
house. But these methods will not fail to rehabilitate and re-
claim a large unfortunate section of the population. Measures
of complete isolation and sterilisation of the unfit have been
advocated, and they become imperative in certain extreme cases.
But these are mere preventives, they do not suggest a cure.
As long as poverty, want and unemployment continue to be
rampant in human society, every effort should be made, even
on a small scale, and perhaps in restricted areas, to plan the
reclamation of the helpless. The beggar must be housed and
healed ; he should be provided with employment so that he can
earn his livelihood and live in dignity and self-respect. There
should be a network of organisations, co-ordinated together,
working according to plan on scientific lines to deal regionally
with small beggar communities. It is unlikely that such orga-
nisations will not receive public sympathy and support ; and
if they are backed by religious bodies, a good deal of uncontrolled
charity which is going to waste, will be harnessed to the real
benefit of the generally handicapped, leaving it to law to deal with
that section which uses beggary as a shield and a tool for anti-
social and criminal conduct.

Coming to a more intelligent type of charity where those
who have sincerely desired to utilize their wealth for the genuine
welfare of their fellowmen, it is felt that a good deal of such philan-
thropy can be organised to achieve human welfare on scientific
lines. The needs of the church, the class and certain benevolent
institutions attracted the sympathy and interest of the well-to-do

THE CITIZEN AND SCIENTIFIC PHILANTHROPY

in the past. Even today communal, sectarian and religious
charities thrive in many cases. The orphan, the sick, the destitute
and the student benefit from these partially organised sectional
charities. In such cases, too, what the giver gives indiscriminately
is distributed unsystematically. Waste, overlapping, jobbery
and even corruption enter into many badly organised charities
which know not how to utilize their resources for the maximum
good of the maximum number. Donors, seeking limelight,
support, causes which bring a halo to their names ; they are not
interested in maintaining and upholding efficient services for the
intensive service of the poor. It may be added, however, that
there are important exceptions to these mushroom organisations,
societies and associations brought into being by mediocre and
untrained leadership under high-sounding names and lofty
aspirations.

The time has come however when the philanthropist has
to be led, guided and helped, when the public has to be educated
to discriminate between well-deserving and dubious causes, and
when societies and associations have to be brought to the realisa-
tion that wise philanthropy and genuine service must yield results
in terms of human welfare, happiness and progress.

A public body, organised by an individual or group of in-
dividuals, should demonstrate certain well-defined characteristics
and qualities to deserve public sympathy and private aid. Its
aims and objects should be clearly and precisely stated ; a number
of such bodies adequate in relation to the society's resources,
should receive direct and tangible support. Selfless leadership,
capable of thoughtful and consistent action, is as imperative for
any useful organisation or institution, as efficient management
and careful, watchful supervision. A sufficient number of useful
and active workers who understand and appreciate the cause-
they serve, and who are in some manner trained for the worfcj
are necessary to obtain satisfactory results for public philanthropy.
The real success of these organisations, however, will only come
if their activities and services are worked according to plan, and
if scientific methods are employed to execute these plans in terms
of concerted and persistent efforts. The finances of these bodies

ITS

OUR BEGGAR PROBLEM

should reveal careful investment of funds in useful activities
and avoidance of waste and heavy administrative costs.

In a country like India where population is large and badly
housed, the standard of health low, illiteracy extensive, the
woman suffering from various handicaps and the child neglected,
public and organised efforts should be directed towards the
restoration of a sane social life. The investment of money in
this direction will be the most useful and helpful charity. Human
environment plays an important role in the direction of social
evolution and progress. The environment helps to develop
talents and character, and a healthy environment will greatly
stimulate efficiency in every aspect of life. A planned physical
environment will facilitate the birth of various types of social
welfare activities. Both in the city and in the village housing
planned on a co-operative basis under public initiative will pave
the way for Municipal and State action on a larger scale. The
investment of charity in housing projects will contribute much
towards greater human happiness, better health and improved
social relations and social organisation,

In the realm of education, however meagre the educational
facilities provided by the local government and the state, public
charity should reserve its interest for pre-school training and
adult education. The creation of Infant Schools, Nursery
Schools or Montessori Schools or even partial provision for the
care of pre-school children will improve the prospects of education
in the later stages. The foundation of life is laid in the earliest
years, and the provision of proper environment, sufficient and
wholesome food, basic training and adequate play will create
a healthy generation for the future. Both in the village and in
the slum, pre-schools are a neglected amenity for childhood.

Adult education is very much needed, especially for parents
and workers, who never had the opportunity for any kind of
education in their childhood. Adult education is a kind of
activity which can be easily undertaken by voluntary effort
backed by public sympathy and charity. There is an urgent
need to create a National Adult Education Society to direct and
plan adult education in all its aspects, and local adult education

114

THE CITIZEN AND SCIENTIFIC PHILANTHROPY

Centres can be left to the care of local organisations manned by
local volunteers and backed by local charity.

Public effort and private philanthropy should also be directed
towards the preservation of health and the prevention of disease.
The creation of Health Centres in our country has been almost
completely neglected. The provision of outdoor life, playgrounds
and sports and athletics will go a long way towards the creation
of a healthier and a more energetic population. Whilst private
philanthropy may provide these amenities on a club, sectional
or sectarian basis, the Municipality and the State ought to look
to the provision of these for larger numbers. Municipalities
may even take advantage of private philanthropy to advance the
cause of health of the general public. As in the case of Adult
Education, a Playground Movement or a Physical Welfare Move-
ment organised on a national basis, backed by private charity
and philanthropy in local areas, is necessary in any scheme of
national reconstruction.

The maintenance of the poor is a serious problem, and in
our country where the majority of the population is a victim
of chronic poverty, a solution can only be attempted for the
benefit of small numbers and sectional communities. Efforts have
especially been made in communities, castes and social groups
in which the majority enjoy a higher standard of life. Private
philanthropy should give every possible encouragement to any
systematic or scientific attempt to relieve poverty and its con-
sequences. Efforts for the complete rehabilitation of the poor
should be made by any intelligent community that is capable
of reazlisingthe importance of preserving social health and taking
active measures against the slow demoralisation and deterioration
of a part of itself which is eventually bound to react on it or
the community as a whole. The employment of trained social
workers by private individuals and public associations to carry
out Family Case Work amongst the victims of poverty is one
of the most effective forms of utilising private charity and philan-
thropy. Family Case Work is recognised in the civilized world
as the highest form of social service. It is also the most diffi-
cult type of social work which can be done only by trained, ex

OUR BEGGAR PROBLEM

perienced and mature social workers, well-versed in the know-
ledge of social sciences, especially individual and group psycho-
logy, family problems and the treatment of every aspect of the
poverty problem. Any institution, association or public body
catering to the poor ought to be able to pay for the services of
full-time qualified workers who will be able to do more for the
relief of the poor and eradication of poverty than any of the
half-hearted palliatives, like doles, distribution of food grains
and clothes, relief for rent etc., which eventually render the pro-
blem more complex for solution. If private philanthropy can
come to the help of associations which serve the poor, it will
enable them to render more effective aid than hitherto.

The present war, with all its evil consequences, is augment-
ing considerably the private wealth of a large number of indi-
viduals, business firms and organizations. When private wealth
is thus increased, it is but natural that a part of it will be uti-
lised by well-meaning and intelligent philanthropists for the
benefit of their fellow-men. The utilisation of the surplus wealth
of individuals and the utilisation of money put at the disposal
of handicapped and needy human groups requires to be pro-
perly directed and invested so as to make charity yield the maxi-
mum of human welfare. It is usual for wealthy philanthropists
to give a part of their wealth as endowments to be managed
by Trustees. The aims and objects of the Trust are usually
determined by the needs of groups at a given period, and as
Trusts have a premanent existence, considerable difficulties
arise years later when the Articles of the Trust remain fairly
operative whilst the direction in which the Trust money has
to be used requires to be changed due to circumstances.

In the making of Trusts, the help of lawyers is not enough.
It is essential for philanthropists to consult institutions like the
Charity Organisation Societies that exist all over Europe and
America, but are unfortunately not known to this country.
This Charity Organisation Movement, briefly known as the C.O.S.,
which began in the middle of the 19th century, has rendered the
greatest help in Western coiintries in the efficient organisation
and management of private charities. It took almost a hundred

116

CITIZEN- AND SCIENTIFIC PHILANTHROPY

years for the C.O.S. to come into its own. In the last decade
of the eighteenth century, a society for bettering the conditions
of the poor came into existence under the leadership of men
like William Wilberforce, Thomas Barnard, M. Eliot and others.
After more than half a century, the Society gathered strength.
John Ruskin and Octavia Hill joined it. And the C.O.S. Move-
ment took root both in England and in America, and in various
forms existed throughout the Continent.

The task of the C.O.S. was the task of leadership in the field
of philanthropy. It attempted to educate charity societies by
suggestion and example. The C.O.S. suggested the nationalisa-
tion and consolidation of charities and desired to organise charity
by legislation and social action. It published voluminous litera-
ture on the problem of poverty and the ways of charity. It
raised social services to the level of a profession. Some action
on the lines of the C.O.S. Movement has already been taken in
India. Here and there Charity Organisation Societies have
come into existence, mainly to serve small sections of people.
The government too has acted to a small extent under the pres-
sure of public opinion, and registration of charities and the super-
vision of accounts, however partial, have been undertaken. It
is unfortunate that no effort has yet been made to work the
real aims and principles of the C.O.S. Movement. Hardly any
lead has been given to the philanthropists, loose and independent
actions of societies with narrow outlooks have not been co-ordi-
nated, persons who manage charity have not yet been even
brought together, let alone the larger purpose of educating them
in the scientific methods of charity management.

India is a vast country, and the existence of many commu-
nities and the caste system comes in the way of any effort to
organise charity on a national basis. To give charity for the
benefit of one's own caste or community can be understood and
appreciated, but a wider outlook for a broad-based philanthropy
has to be gradually created. Moreover, sectional and com-
munal groups, whilst continuing to serve their own interests,
can come together for common purposes, for the promotion of
common objects. There is an urgent need to educate public

OUR BEGGAR PROBLEM

opinion with regard to the investment of money in charity for
the promotion of public welfare and for suggesting better methods
of management of charities.

As the social consciousness continues to awaken in this
country, there is a greater desire to see that charity serves a
far greater purpose than providing temporary satisfaction to
the giver and the receiver. The need is felt for a greater under-
standing of the human problem and its solution by better under-
standing and co-operation between the public, the philanthropist
and the government. The task is not an easy one. The
emotional forces that urge the large masses to sacrifice and con-
tribute their mite towards the well-being of their fellowmen
should be given a direction and insistent education must create
public opinion in favour of wise and discreet giving. Leaders
and workers inspired by the mission of aid to their fellowmen
must come together to formulate with care and precision their
aims and ideals, and work together with efficiency and organisa-
tion to achieve those aims. The philanthropist, endowed with
wealth, must be guided by the State and organised charity to
invest his wealth in causes which are worthwhile and which will
aid in the eradication of want and poverty, and the encourage-
ment of self-sufficiency and self-respect. The road is a long one,
and India is only on the threshold of attempting to organise
and regulate fundamental individual and social forces which
have since time immemorial contributed to the well-being and
service of the human and the sub-human kingdoms.

A SCHEME FOR TACKLING THE BEGGAR
PROBLEM

Although this Scheme deals specifically with the problem
of beggar control in the City of Bombay, it can serve as a
basis for similar schemes in other parts of India, for the pro-
blem is, more or less, similar everywhere. In drawing up this
comprehensive Scheme, Dr. Balsara's main idea has been to
devise various types uf institutions needed and to co-ordi-
nate their activities with other existing agencies in the
City which can render help or useful co-operation in the
rehabilitation of beggars.

PART I
PRELIMINARY SURVEY NUMBERS- LEGISLATION

rE difficult problem of beggars in the City of Bombay
has been under discussion for over 36 years. It has
agitated the public mind, the Municipal Corporation
and the Provincial Government from time to time. It still
awaits a studied, serious and systematic handling^ let alone a
solution. I shall not go here into the various theoretical as-
pects of the problem of beggary from the standpoint of its effects
on society, society's responsibility for it, its economic and socio-
logical causes, its nuisance value, its influence on public health,
the injury to social conscience and the encouragement of social

119

OUR BEGGAR PROBLEM

vices through its long tolerance and such other questions asso-
ciated with the vast problem of nearly 14 to 29 lacs 1 of beggars
and religious mendicants in the country as a whole. Nor would
I like to go into the controversy of determining the relative res-
ponsibility of the four sections of Indian society, viz., the pub-
lic, the civic administration, the Provincial and Central Govern-
ments for solving the problem. It would suffice for my purpose
to say that none of the above four sections can or should singly
handle or attempt to solve the problem, that their close co-
operation will be necessary at every stage and that the ultimate
control and major financing of the movement and machinery
for the tackling of the beggar problem should rest with the Pro-
vincial and the Local Governments as has been the case in all
the countries of the West where this problem has been syste-
matically handled.

The Need of Co-operation Between the General Public and
Local and Provincial Governments in Handling the Problem of
Beggars. Most of the civilized countries of the world have long
prohibited begging in public and declared it an offence under the
law, whereas England began her Poor Law Relief as early as
the reign of Queen Elizabeth from the beginning of the seven-
teenth century. Japan has enacted social laws to care for her
aged and infirm in State and Municipal Homes and begging in
Japan is as scarce as in countries like Great Britain and Ger-
many. But beggars still stalk the streets of China, India, Moslem
and other countries of the Near, Middle and Far East and even
some of the smaller eastern European States, though all have
realised the fact that the beggar problem can never be solved
by private charity, however profuse, and that state intervention
and legislation ar& necessary if the allied problems of begging,
destitution and vagrancy are to be effectively tackled. In fact,
private charity without organised, well discriminated and in-
stitutionalised distribution of relief, has, more often than not,
led to the intensification of the evil it has tried to relieve or
eradicate, and that is exactly what has happened in India and
some Moslem countries, where giving alms to all and sundry,

1 Census Report of 1931 and 1921 respectively.

120

A SCHEME FOR TACKLING THE BEGGAR PROBLEM

infirm and able-bodied, deserving and otherwise, has been par-
ticularly extolled as a virtue and an act of piety and godliness.

In the city itself and even in the country as a whole,
attempts at the handling of the Beggar Problem have been
or arc being made either by actual or proposed legislation in
the following cities and states: Madras, Colombo, Hyderabad
(Deccan), Calcutta, Lucknow, Mysore, Bangalore, Karachi,
Nagpur and Bombay. Public opinion is gradually gathering
strength against the social and sanitary evils of begging,
and right-minded people have been clamouring for a
systematic handling of the beggar problem. Under the
stress of soaring prices and scarcity of foodstuffs, and
more particularly the difficulty of rationing for the homeless
and the vagrant, the time seems propitious for such an organised
effort. It is, therefore, suggested that the public, the civic
administration and Government make an earnest effort to tackle
this problem, which, though of too long a duration to frighten
the organisers, is not so insoluble or vast as not to yield to a
really serious effort. It is in the hope of showing to some extent
the fair possibility of the problem being successfully tackled
that the Scheme has been worked out in some detail, though,
it is offered only as a tentative one and with no claim of finality
or infallibility about it. Its outline for other cities will vary
according to local circumstances and the existence or otherwise
of suitable institutions.

Juvenile Beggar and Religious Mendicant not Our Concern
in this Scheme. I shall not deal here with the question
of the juvenile beggar under 16, as that problem is
being already dealt with by a separate enactment
(Children Act of 1924) and a relevant Society (Children's
Aid Society) in Bombay as well as in other cities,
and appropriate cases should be referred to the proper quarters
if brought to the notice of the police or other authorised agents
empowered to deal with adult male and female beggars. Nor
shall I deal with the much larger and somewhat more difficult
question of religious mendicants, or Fakirs and Sadhus, who do
not openly beg in streets or from the general public but in the

121

OUR BEGGAR PROBLEM

precincts or close neighbourhood of temples and mosques.

Enactment of Proper Legislation a Pre-requisite. I shall
not deal here with the detailed legislation or enactment
of the proposed Act for the Prevention of Begging beyond
pointing out that the first pre-requisite of the scheme detailed
below is adequate and proper legislation, empowering the police
and other authorised agents to arrest and remand the beggars
detected in the act of begging to a Home or Centre, to be kept
there for shorter or longer periods, ranging from a few days to
3 to 12 months or longer as found necessary according to the
nature of individual cases. 1 This legislative enactment is neces-
sary because the existing police powers under the City Police
Act, Municipal Acts or the Indian Penal Code are utterly in-
adequate to enable the police authorities to handle the beggars.
But the legislation need not be very elaborate and can be based
on the various enactments that are already on the Statute Book
in Calcutta, Madras, Colombo, Hyderabad and Lucknow. A
tentative draft can be prepared by some one and then handed
over to a committee of 3 lawyers and 3 or 4 laymen (including
women) to be put into proper shape, varying according to local
conditions.

The Approximate Number of Beggars in the City. Coming
straight to the Scheme, one would like to know the
magnitude of the problem in the City of Bombay, so that
one may have some idea of the approximate financial liability
involved at the end of one to five years. It is a matter of sur-
prise that no reliable figures of the number of beggars in the
City, systematically classified, are available. The figures avail-
able, such as they are, are however given below :

1911 The Census Report of 1911 gives the mendicant
population of the City of Bombay inclusive of " beg-
gars, vagrants, procurers, prostitutes, receivers of
stolen goods, cattle poisoners " belonging to all reli-
gions and inclusive of religious beggars at 11,069,
of whom 5,728 were adult males, 3,664 adult females.

1. For the subject of legislation, see relevant chapter in this Book.

A SCHEME FOB TACKLING THE BEGGAR PROBLEM

and 1,678 dependants. Of these 7,426 were Hindus
and 3,195 Muslims and the remaining belonged to
other denominations. These figures naturally give
us little idea of our real problem of secular beggars.
(Vide Census Report Vol. Ill, Bombay Parts I
& II p. 88.) In the same year the Census Report
gives the figures of beggars in Calcutta and its suburbs
at 5,624 of whom only 1,283 or less than 25% were
born in Calcutta.
1921 The Census Report gives the following figures :

HINDUS

;

USLIMS

Male

Female

Depen-
dants

Total

Male

Female

Depen-
dants

Total

Beggars &
Vagrants

3,163

1,030

542

4,735

1,234

301

235

1,770

6,505

( Vide Vol. IX, Part II ? Tables, p. Ixxviii.)
1931 The Census Report gives the total beggar population
without any attempt at detailed classification as
5,025 out of a total city population of 11,61,383,
which gives an incidence of 4.3 per 1,000 after
Lahore the highest incidence among 7 of the larger
cities of India, Calcutta figures of 3,266 in the same
year considered not reliable. Of these 5,025, males
form 3,821 and females 1,198, there being 11 more
working dependants. (Vide Vol. IX, Part II, p. 199.)
1941 After considerable discussion and effort and a
special attempt at rounding up beggars from the
streets in the city, but during a rather wrong and
awkward period of 8 to 12 at night, the Census of
1941 produced the surprising* figure of beggars in
the precincts of the city at 1,771 on the night of
28-2-41, 1,335 males and 436 females not a reliable
figure apart from the defects in the method and
hours of rounding up, interrogation, etc.
1943 The Census of the " Homeless " which description

123

OUR BEGGAR PROBLEM

or designation is not necessarily co-terminous with
" beggars " carried out for the purposes of ration-
ing by rounding up the persons in the streets during
daylight, gave the following figures :

Adults 8,179

Children over 2 and under 12 1,825

Children under 2 118

Persons enumerated ... 10,122

No Reliable Figures of Secular Beggars in the City yet
Available. The Estimate of the Sethna Committee. Thus we find
that we have no reliable census of secular beggars taken in recent
years on which to base our forecast of the magnitude of the
problem for solution and our estimate of the approximate
establishment, equipment and expenditure we may need.
The Committee for Prevention of Professoinai Beggary
appointed by Government Resolution No. 3020 of 26-3-1918
to consider and formulate proposals for the prevention of
professional begging also bemoaned the lack of reliable figures
and obtained some statistics from District Officers, which,
the Committee said, " though they cannot be regarded as
perfectly accurate, can safely be treated as making the nearest
approach to accuracy for practical purposes." These figures
they gave as follows (p. 15 of the Committee's Report):

Area

<a) Bombay City
<6) 26 Districts in the
Presidency

lie

Population

Population of Beggars

Total

Adults

Juvenile

9,79,445

4,000

1,000

5,000

1,86,47,032

30,8G5t

14,020*

44,885 X
10,972*

l,06,26,477i

60,857

The Committee estimated that the ratio of juvenile to adult
beggars worked out at about 30% to 70%, and the juvenile
and infirm together formed half of the adult able-bodied beg-

t For 20 districts.

* Approximate figure for 6 district*.

124

A SCHEME FOR TACKLING THE BEGGAR PROBLEM

gar population, i.e., in the ratio of 1 to 2 (20,000 and 40.000
respectively in the Bombay province). The infirm alone they
computed at about 8% of the total, i.e., about 5,000 in the
whole province.

Figures According to the Special Census of Beggars in
1921. Mr. O. H. B. Starte, who was specially appointed to make
a further report and draw up a scheme for the tackling of the
beggar problem in the City of Bombay, gives figures of beggars
in the City obtained from ' a special census taken by the Corpora-
tion on 6-11-1921 ', the total number of religious and secular
mendicants enumerated being 6,88s 1 of whom 4, 912 were secular
and 1,971 Fakirs and Sadhus. Some useful particulars about
age, sex and physical condition of the secular and religious men-
dicants were as follows :

SECITLAR

RELIGIOUS

Male jKeniale j Total j Male [Female

i Grand

] Total

Total 1

1. Able-bodied aged 16|

and above

2. Those suffering from

disabling infirmities
and aged 16 and
above

3. Able-bodied below

16 years of age

4. Those suffering from

disabling infirmities
and below 16 years
of age

lt>

...
:>m

irr-

1,240

737

1.983

Mia

1 55

1 ,538

3,581

1 382

373

1 755

1 ,456

1 450

ym
ies

ITS

...

... ^

6,883

As we are not concerned in this Scheme with the religious
mendicants and juveniles as already stated above, we have to
consider the above figures of able-bodied adult beggars of 1 ,246
males and 737 females and of the 1,382 infirm, or a total of 3,365. 2

1 This comes very near the figure of 0,505 according lo the Census of 1921.

2 lo the recent Rationing Census, the ' homeless ' were counted at 8,179 adults and 1325
children under 12. The enumerators stated that about 30 to 40% of these may be beggars
which would give a figure of beggars at approximately 3,272 adults or 4,000 inclusive of
children i.e., 40% of the total. But according to the enumerators, those suffering from
disabling infirmities would not be more than 3 to 5% i.e., 300 to 500 out of the total home-
less of 10,122, whereas 7 to 8% more may be suffering from curable skin diseases. (In
1936 in Calcutta the number of beggars was estimated at 4,000 of whom 2,000 were esti-
mated to be able-bodied, 1,000 lepers, 400 blind and 600 suffering from other diseases.)

125

OUR BEGGAR PROBLEM

A Good Number Of Able-bodied Beggars will make Themselves
Scarce no Sooner the Prevention of Begging Act is put into
Force. Now whatever the figure of able-bodied and infirm adult
secular beggars may be in the city, it must be stated at the out-
set that as soon as legislation to arrest and remand them is
introduced, a very substantial percentage will either turn to
work, cease begging, leave the city, repair to and live with rela-
tives or will be rendered liable for deportation. 1 This has been
the experience the world over and also in Indian cities whenever
such legislation has been introduced and its provisions put into
force. It would not be advisable, therefore, to make provision
in our scheme straight away for very large numbers or even to
build pucca structures for accommodating a large number of
either able-bodied or infirm beggars. Besides, at present there
will be the added difficulty of obtaining building materials for
a year or two to come. The scheme must, therefore, be deliberately
conceived on a modest scale to start with, with proposals to
utilise existing structures or institutions as far as available and
to put up kutcha, cheaper structures somewhat on the lines of
village huts, though built on sanitary plans, if further living or
lodging accommodation is required.

Caution in Expenditure Necessary Because of the Experimental
Nature of the Measures in the Initial Stages of the Scheme.
The first beginnings of the handling of this difficult problem
of rehabilitating beggars in such large numbers as in the entire
Province must inevitably be on an experimental basis, and it
would be less costly and wasteful in the long run if houses, struc-
tures, institutions and settlements are not located and erected
on a basis of finality and for the full number of persons known
or estimated to coie under this scheme. This caution is very
necessary in view of the subsequent complications and difficulties
arising and waste occurring among numerous social institutions

1 The beggar community comprises a motley crowd in any city and all do not beg out
of necessity. A large member will not relish institutionalisation. So the following types
will soon fade away from the city, thus leaving a much smaller number of really needy
beggars to be called for under the legislation, viz., (a) the professional able-bodied male
and female beggars; (b) those who are otherwise employed but supplement their income by
begging; (c) the wives and children of those male casual workers, who allow the former to
earn by begging because of economic stress or urban demoralisation; (d) those who organise
begging and live on their wits and (e) the juvenile beggars who have been away from home
and taken to begging when not gainfully employed otherwise.

126

A SCHEME FOR TACKLING THE BEGGAR PROBLEM

owing to hurried planning, lack of provision for change,
expansion or adaptation and the cocksureness of the organisers
about their initial plans, aims, objects and ideals, all put up with
a touch of finality as if nothing therein will need the slightest
change. No such finality is claimed for this tentative and ex-
perimental scheme and it should be thrashed out in every detail
by persons who have thought about or possess experience of
like schemes or institutions. It only indicates in somewhat
broad outlines one way in which the problem can be handled.

Some Considerations Regarding Legislation. We have
already stated that we are not concerned in this scheme
with the question of legislation, which should be taken
up by a Committee of 5 to 7 lawyers and laymen, who should
use the existing legislation in other provinces and some tenta-
tive draft for guidance and draft a Bill to suit the needs of the
particular City with which they are concerned. The enactment
should properly differentiate between the secular and religious
beggar or mendicant and leave the latter out of its purview at
least in the early stages of handling the beggar problem in order
to avoid unnecessary complications and possible opposition on
religious grounds. 1 However, it may be provided that while
religious mendicants may be allowed in the precincts of a reli-
gious house like a temple, mosque or church, they should under
no circumstances be allowed to beg on any public roads, streets,
or premises or from the public in general, if they do; they
must be brought within the purview of the Act for the Preven-
tion of Begging in the City. Even as regards allowing them
to beg within the precincts of religious institutions, they should
do so with the express permission of the owners or trustees of
the institution, and if the latter object, the beggars or mendi-
cants will have to cease begging or otherwise they should be dealt
with as ordinary beggars under the proposed Act. In this con-
nection the attention of those entrusted with the drafting of the
Bill may be drawn to some of the recommendations regarding

1 The religious aspect of mendicancy has been very elaborately treated with relevant
citations from scriptural texts and opinions of religious savants and dipnitories by the
Sethna Committee (Bombay) and the Committee appointed by the Mysore Government.
(Vide their respective Reports),

127

OUR BEGGAR PROBLEM

definitions, etc., in the Sethna Committee's Report, (Chapter
VII, paragraph 37, p. 16), and in Mr. Starte's Report (Para-
graphs 16-18, pp. 7-9), which deal with the important questions
of religious and secular beggars, how far begging in the public
should be made a punishable offence, etc.

PART II
INSTITUTIONS NEEDED THEIR WORKING

Magistrate to Remand Every Case to the Slielter for Keeping
Identificatory Evidence. Let us suppose that adequate legisla-
tion has been framed and passed and the police and other
authorised agents 1 have begun their work of arresting beggars
as accommodation and funds permit, and placing them before
the magistrate for trial and remand if they come within the
cognizance of law. As the magistrate will be hearing evidence
adduced by the police or the arresting agent and the offender
himself as well as witnesses, if any, he will be in a position to
judge whether he should release the offender if it is his first
offence and he or his relatives or friends give an assurance that
he will not beg any more. In order, however, to facilitate
identification on a second arrest of the same person, the police
should keep an adequate record of the particulars, photograph
and thumb impression of the offender and send them to the
remand home or Shelter for filing, or if this is not possible, the
magistrate may remand every offender convicted of the offence
of begging to the Shelter with a writ that he is to be released
on the above formalities being completed.

DISCRETION for Release to be Allowed to the Shelter Super-
visor. If the magistrate is not convinced of thebona-fides of the
offender that he will not resort to begging again or if there is
none to give a guarantee on the offender's behalf, he will naturally
pass a Reception Order sending him ta the remand home or

1 As the police are generally busy with to much other work, are transferred from sec-
tion to section and are not always available at the places where they may be most needed
at certain times of the day, it would be advisable to arm some employees of the Shelter or
Management Committeecalled Agents for the purpose with police powers to go round
the City and arrest beggars found in the act of begging and committing a breach of the Act.
These Agents must, however, be appointed on a temporary term of 1 to 3 years in the first
instance, for their retention may become unnecessary in course of time.

128

DIWALI CELEBRATIONS

Probably Diwali Celebrations would not be complete,

unless you meet this sight. Visit the temples and you

will see yourself hemmed in all sides by the beggars.

Exploitation of the child

A SCHEME FOR TACKLING THE BEGGAR PROBLEM

Shelter to be detained there for a shorter or longer period
according to the exigencies of each case. Now the maximum
period of detention on first offence, (which may be three months),
should only be mentioned by the trying magistrate and the
release of the offender at any time during that period should be
left to the discretion of the officer in charge (whom we may call
the Shelter Supervisor), as it is possible that some developments
may take place soon after the remand; besides, begging is not
an offence against society or a crime on the same level as other
heinous offences, and the beggar should not therefore be treated
unduly harshly for the first offence and particularly so in the
early stages o<* the experiment of the legislation. The Super-
visor of the Shelter or his subordinate officers will be in a much
.better position to find out the attitude and temperament of
the first offender in the quiet, persnasive atmosphere of the
Shelter and judge whether the offender should be released with
some help or advice immediately, or on being assured that he
or his relatives or friends are able to take care of him, and he
need not be kept any longer at the Shelter. These preliminary
remarks are necessary here because, if the Committee agrees,
these provisions will have to be suitably incorporated in properly-
framed legislation.

Naming of tlie Remand Home and Oilier Institutions in Con-
nection with the Scheme of Beggar Rehabilitation. Now a word
about the conception of the Shelter or remand home and the
spirit of rehabilitation that should pervade it. It is under-
stood that the ultimate idea of the removal of beggars from the
streets and prohibition of begging and vagrancy is wot
merely to punish the beggar, who may be one, not always
because of his own fault but because of many social, economic
and other forces or circumstances often beyond his control.
We would put down the prime purpose of legislation to be to reclaim
and rehabilitate the fortunate beggar as far as it is possible to do so.
If that be the aim* care should be taken in the naming of the
institutions and designating the personnel that are brought
into, being for the handling of this problem. We attach some
importance to nomenclature in such a social scheme as the above,

OUR BEGGAR PROBLEM

because if there is a derogatory meaning attached to the words,
names or terminology applied or used, the stigma sticks to the
inmates, influences their behaviour and is difficult to eradicate
once society at large gets used to the ideas associated with the
umme or names of the institutions. As the word ' beggar'
like so many others, has come to have considerable odium and
condemnation attached to it, we should avoid naming our insti-
tutions with that or a similar word. This will help us in rehabi-
litating the beggars ; otherwise, it will create a handicap in find-
ing such people any regular employment even after rehabilita-
tion. With this idea I have suggested all along a certain in-
offensive terminology or nomenclature for various homes, in-
stitutions and officials, which, however, may be substituted
with more suitable names as available or considered desirable.

Necessity of a Home or Shelter in the City. Now as beggars
are gradually arrested and produced before the magistrates,
they may first be in larger numbers but later on they may be
very few. As soon as the order for remand or reception has
been made, they will have to be taken to a home and, there-
fore, a building for housing about 40 to 50 persons including
men, women and children, according to the proportion or
extent of beggar infestation in each city, will be required
in a fairly central or easily accessible locality in the city. As
regards Bombay, if arrangements could be arrived at with the
King George V Memorial Infirmary and Lady Dhunbai Home for
Destitutes at Haines Road, (Mahaluxmi), to house these remanded
persons, it would be very helpful and economical. Otherwise,
if an Improvement Trust or Municipal or Government chawl,
somewhat detached from others, is made available, it may tempo-
rarily serve the purpose. This building will have to have halls
or dormitories for males and females and a few rooms in case
there are whole families with children to be accommodated.
Two or three detached rooms will be required for the infirm,
the defective and those suffering from contagious diseases.
Such a place may be called the Shelter (sfpSTT) to which the
beggars may be sent on conviction.

The Purpose of the Shelter : Sorting of the Beggars. The

ISO

A SCHEME FOR TACKLING THE BEGGAR PROBLEM

Shelter will be a place for receiving and sorting out the
beggars. Those who would like to return to their relatives
will be sent back to them after due inquiry and on the Super-
visor being satisfied that the person or persons can be trusted
or allowed to go. The Supervisor will have to be authorised
to spend some limited amount on repatriation of such beggars.
There will be the following types of persons to be sorted
out :

(a) Able-bodied, single, unattached adult males.

(b) Able-bodied, single, unattached adult females.

(d) Man and woman.

(e) Man, wife and children (man, woman and children

should be put in the same category as the last).

(f) Defective, Diseased, Disabled or Infirm.

These six classes of persons will have to be dealt with
differently according to the special requirements of each case.
I would suggest that the affairs of the Shelter should not be
made too complicated, and generally the inmates should not
be allowed to remain in the Shelter more than a few days except
an exceptional circumstances. It should act more or less as a
Reception and Clearing House.

Distribution to Communal Homes or Institutions if such
Exist. Now, soon after the inmates are'in the Shelter, having com-
pleted the preliminary recording of their particulars, preparing
identification cards with photographs, etc., the Supervisor will
have to sort out the inmates with a view to directing them to
respective institutions for keep, work, training or treatment.
It may here be suggested that the Shelter must keep a complete
list of communal and other institutions that have been established
in the city with a view to taking care of the down-and-outs
or stranded members of different communities. Thus Shelters,
Dharmashalas or Homes will be found in the city for the desti-
tute of all communities like the Sir Jamshetjee Jejeebhoy Dhar-
mashala of the District Benevolent Society at Bellasis-Ripori
Road, like the Seth F. S. Paruk Dharmashala at Hughes-Babul-
nath Road for the Parsis, managed by the Parsi Punchayet

131

OUE BEGGAR PROBLEM

Trustees, King Edward Home at Ripon Road managed by the
Salvation Army and the European Relief Association for Euro-
peans and Anglo-Indians, Saraswat Deen Vatsal Sangh, Bombay
4, for Saraswats. Wherever such homes or shelters exist for
the members of any community, it would be desirable, after the
preliminaries of record, etc., have been completed, to direct by
mutual arrangement such persons to the respective types of
institutions so that the responsibility of the Shelter may be
lessened to that extent. To this end the Shelter Supervisor
must keep up-to-date information about the existence or establish-
ment of such homes, shelters or institutions in the City. Except
for the above and those who have to be repatriated to their
family or relatives, each remaining class or type of beggar will
have to be treated differently, and we will discuss them below
separately.

Industrial Home for the Training of the Able-bodied.
Taking now the first five classes of beggars, ail the able-
bodied adult males and females will need a separate Home or
institution, as the majority of them may be largely unskilled
and would need to be given some training for work or taught
some trade if they have nowhere to go to. Releasing them
to the wide world without friends, influence or resources, after
a remand at the Shelter, will only force them again on the streets
and perhaps to more cunning or clandestine forms of begging
or to thieving as it happens in the case of a large number of con-
victs on their release from imprisonment. Those of the able-
bodied men and women on the first and second remand, who
express their willingness to do any work given them but are
not in a position to find it, may be found some work ; and if
no work is immediately available for them, they will have to
be given some training for some skilled or semi-skilled work or
trade, for which they may be kept for at least 3 months in an
institution called the Industrial Home (Sfffa 3T3T). This may
be situated either in or on the outskrits of the city. The struc-
ture may be quite simple and even if they are sheds of bamboo-
matting walls and leak-proof zavli roofing with a raised plinth
to keep off rain-water flooding the interior and built on sanitary

182

A SCHEME FOR TACKLING THE BEGGAR PROBLEM

principles, they will admirably serve the purpose of providing
residential accommodation separately for men and women, and
some covered space for simple industrial training in easy arts
and crafts. The sheds or camps for men and women may be
separate, but they can be in the same compound or enclosure,
-so that both may get advantage of the general industrial lay-out.
The easier or lighter operations and processes may be worked
Iby the women as suited to their fingers and ability, and the
heavier or more arduous operations may be done by men. 1

Employment First in Skilled or Unskilled Work in the City.
Training in industrial skill or technique takes time and it
is easier to get it at an early stage in life. After idling one's
life in begging, skilled work may not come easily to one's fingers
or appeal to one's heart and so we must strive to procure as much
unskilled work as possible for these men and women after giving
them some training in disciplined life at the Industrial Home,
say from 1 to 3 months or more in the case of a second remand
according to the exigencies of each individual case. Here it
may be stated that though the city attracts its beggars from
the town and village, the hardened beggars may have become
so used to city life and conditions that a large section of them,
who have no homes to go to, wDl find themselves at sea in their
small town or village and may prefer to stay in the city and
find work there. Besides, it would be easier in the early part
of the scheme to find work for beggars in cities with their much
larger possibilities of employment in industry than to establish

1 Since the above note was prepared, I have seen the Evacuation Camp at Chembur
{about 10 miles from Bombay) and I believe it will conveniently suit the purpose for lodging
able-bodied beggars with an Industrial Home for about 3OO and an Infirmary for those de-
fective and diseased or maimed cases who do not need much medical attention. The sheds
are well -built and will last for some years, except that the zavli roofing will have to be re-
paired and replaced every two years and privies on the basket system will have to be provided
us slit trenches will not do for a permanent settlement and will not be hygienic especially
in the monsoon. This will have the initial expenditure of Rs. 30,000 to 60,000 on structures.
The 13 sheds can easily accommodate about 500 inmates, in addition to providing room for
weaving and other industrial purposes.

There is a charitable dispensary nearby with a doctor in charge residing on the pre-
mises, who will be of great help to the staff as well as inmates. There are also a School,
Library, Post Office and Police Post only a hundred feet away on the opposite side of the
dividing road, and electric current can be tapped on the spot from the overhead Mains.
'The Chembur station is at a distance of about $ mile and there is a regular bus service to the
Sion Station on the fi.I.P. Rly. There are 2 big wells in the Camp and the Tulsi and Vihar
water pipe lines are situated at a distance of J mile from the Camp and can be tapped if
more water is needed for the Industrial Home and Infirmary. There is ample Government
land in the neighbourhood for future development. A compound wall, or enclosure will
lhave to fee -erected to prevent the inmates from absconding.

133

OUR BEGGAR PROBLEM

agricultural or other such colonies in undeveloped rural or forest
areas, which require different qualities from those the demora-
lised type of beggars may be expected to possess. Pioneer agri-
cultural colonies or settlements in forest areas or new clearings,
besides, require a high type of leadership and a fairly homo-
geneous group of the first batches of settlers which will not be
so easy to procure among our variously handicapped popula-
tion. The idea of having Agri-horticultural or Agrico-industrial
Colonies or Settlements should therefore come at a much later
stage after considerable experience of the variegated beggar
population as well as of the working of the institutions proposed
here has been obtained. 1 We must not expect miracles of self-
reliance and uplift from the beggars, as it may also be well not
to start with the err^r of under-estimating the capacity of the
once fallen and handicapped to adjust themselves to new con-
ditions, or altogether discount the latent recuperative powers
of human beings to pull themselves together and effect self- im-
provement under congenial atmosphere, kindly support, guidance
and encouragement.

Training in Textile Industry. Coming then to a survey
of possible work for the able-bodied beggars in the city,
the Textile Industry is the largest in Bombay and elastic
enough to absorb from 1 to *2 lacs of male and female
workers. Whereas it has many departments requiring
skilled and therefore trained workers, it can also take
several semi-skilled and unskilled workers, both men and wo-
men. It would therefore be advantageous to have at the In-
dustrial Home a Textile Department with simple spinning on a
good charkha and weaving on hand and treadle looms, and for
purposes of demonstration or actual work a power loom with
dobbie arrangements may also be introduced. This will help
in the production of much-needed cloth for the clothing of the
inmates of the various institutions and the inferior staff em-
ployed thereat, killing two birds with one stone. Further, the
intending worker, man or woman, will be trained up, inter alia*
in an atmosphere of spinning, weaving and ancillary operations

1 Vide Appendix II for the possibilities of dairying and agri-horticulture at Chembur.

134

A SCHEME FOR TACKLING THE BEGGAR PROBLEM

and will not find himself or herself lost in the vastness of a Tex-
tile Mill when transplanted there suddenly after a long life of
practically doing nothing beyond using his tongue or wits. Be-
sides such practical training, the workers should also be given
simple lessons- in discipline, good behaviour -, honest dealings, enthu-
siasm for work and personal cleanliness and sanitation, so that,
when sent out, they may be accepted willingly by the employers
rather than refused work in their concerns because they had a
somewhat degenerate past and come from an atmosphere of
social stigma.

This aspect of creating a good impression about the workers
sent out from the Home needs to be emphasised, for, once the
Home gets a bad name with regard to the inmates' honesty or
willingness to work, it will find it difficult to place them for
employment. They must also be fed well at the Home and their
health should be improved, so that they may be able to do the
hard work expected of them.

Employment in Textile Mills. There are about 65 to
70 Textile Mills in the city and suburbs and the Mill-
Owners' Association and individual proprietors may be
requested to admit from 10 to 20 workers each daily
(on the basis of about 1% of ,. their total employing capacity)
on unskilled or semi-skilled work in their mills, giving them
whatever wages they give to others, so that there may be no
distinction made between the inmates of the Home and other
workers. This will solve by far the most difficult problem of
placing our able-bodied men and women in useful and profitable
employment. The male and female members of the so-called
Criminal Tribes Settlement near Sholapur are given employ-
ment in the textile mills in the city and the mills seem to have
had no particular difficulty with them. The mills in Bombay,
if properly approached, may be able to give employment to a
very large number of our able-bodied inmate population of the
Industrial Home.

Accommodation for the Employed Men in the City, if Neces-
sary. After such employment, the men and women may be
allowed to remain in the Home for some time if they choose to

135

OUK BEGGAR PROBLEM

be tliere on payment for their food, and if they desire to leave
and find their own lodgings they may be allowed to do so. If,
however, on account of the acute shortage of housing in the
city, they are not able to find residential accommodation, the
officials of the Home should try to find it for them through the
Municipality or Government or some other Agency. If by ex-
perience, it is considered desirable to maintain an After-Care
Home or Lodgings for such working inmates of the Home, the
same may be done with a view to make such a Home or Lodgings
self-supporting as far as possible. 1

Other Avenues of Employment -Building Trade. It would
not, however, do to lay all one's eggs in one basket, and
we must keep in view other avenues of skilled and semi-
skilled and unskilled employment for the able-bodied men and
women from among the beggar population. In normal times
the Building Trade would offer some scope for unskilled workers
of both sexes and the Committee of Management may get into
touch with larger Building Contractors in the city, the Munici-
pality and the Public Works Department of the Provincial
Government with a view to secure a few score or hundred places
for our inmates on the works carried out in or outside the city.
If the works are outside the city, the inmates can be sent there
in batches of 15 to 20 or more with some organisation of their
own for purposes of discipline under a Mukadum or Headman,
so that their living, feeding and other arrangements may be
made with the mutual co-operation of all, as is inevitably done
among the Tamil and Tclugu people coming to the city for
work. 2

1 If (he Industrial Home of the able-bodied is housed in the.Cliemhur Evacuation Camp
us proposed, this difficulty of lodging the mill workers in the city may not arise at leant
for some time to come. For, about a mile from the Camp are situated two Textile mills in
Kurla, viz,, the Svudeshi Mill* Co., Ltd., and C'oorla Spinning & Weaving Co., Ltd., belonging
to Messrs. Tata Sons Ltd., & Messrs. Cowasji Jehangir & Co., Ltd., and if these were approach-
ed and requested, they may take up a large portion of the semi-trained inmates of the In-
dustrial Home for employment in their mills. In fact, when the Sethna Committee appoint-
ed for this very purpose considered this matter in 1018-10, the members approached the
Directors of Messrs. Tata Sons Ltd., with such a request and the latter were good enough
to agree to employing as many able-bodied persons out of the beggar population as were sent
to their mills as is done by the mills at Sholaptir with regard to the inmates of the so-called
Criminal Tribes Settlement. (Vide Report Appendix No. 6, p. 45, Section 10).

2 Whether our beggar inmates will be very punctilious about the observance of caste
and whether they have organised themselves in the city in such caste-group* will be a matter
to be looked into. To start with, this idea may be discouraged, though it must be done with
a certain amount of tact and skilful handling of the problem, and if absolutely necessary
in certain respects, some allowance may be made, e.g., in matters of meat and vegetarian

136

A SCHEME FOE TACKLING THE BEGGAR PROBLEM

Casual Labour in the Engineering Works and Conservancy
Department of the Municipality. The Municipality can absorb
some more casual labour on its various engineering works such
as road repairs and construction* stone crushers, etc., and in
the Conservancy Department say to the extent of about 50 to
] 00 daily in place of the absentees. Some special arrangements
will have to be made to inform the Home as to where the
men and women may be sent daily for employment acid, if
the Home is situated far away from the city, some arrange-
ments may have to be made for transport or for lodging of
this batch in an accessible locality.

Domestic Servants, Malis, etc. As there is a dearth of
domestic servants in the city and there is a ready field for
employment of men and women in such callings and the training
required is not elaborate or of a technical nature, it would be
advantageous to employ some good male and female retired
or middle-aged workers to train up a batch of male and female
inmates as general domestic helpmates, bearers, ayahs, wardboys,
sweepers, and some capable persons may even be trained up
as cooks. All this kind of training can be taken at the Indus-
trial Home by actually helping in its varied work, and within 3
to 6 months or a year such persons can be sent out as full-
fledged, properly disciplined workers trained not only in their
work but also in good and clean habits. The Home may thus
come to supply a greatly felt need of clean, decent, well-
behaved domestic servants who are so difficult to procure
under Indian conditions. As most of these workers will go
to decent homes and will get food, clothing, shelter and wages
in addition, their lot would be very much improved and in
any ease would be far better than their begging condition
in streets, homeless and helpless as many would be in old age.
This type of training, if properly and systematically developed,
will be a great success if the trainees are carefully chosen from
amongst the most reliable and willing inmates of the Home.

diet, disposal of the dead* marriage by language-groups, etc. The Moslems, Hindus and
Scheduled or Backward classes and such others may have to be provided for specially in some
such matters and with regard to worship if the inmates are devout or religious-minded,
though, as stated above, too many distinctions of this sort should not be encouraged as far
as possible.

137

OUR BEGGAK PROBLEM

Similarly, a few men and women can be trained to do maid's
work, which, besides creating beautiful surroundings for the
Shelter, Industrial Home and Infirmary, will also give them
employment, as malis are in fair demand in the city.

Able-bodied Inmates to be made to do Productive Work and
lounger People to be Apprenticed. As it will be difficult and
costly for the Industrial Home to undertake any very ela-
borate industrial training of the inmates at a fairly advanced
age in various branches of technical or industrial operations ,,
it would be desirable to look out for other avenues of
employment where unskilled or semi-skilled workers are
required, and build up contacts with works and factories,
where men and women could be supplied as manual workers
or unskilled labourers on normal wages, after the inmates have
been given a relatively intensive training in habit formation,
application, cleanliness, methodical work, etc., for a period
ranging from 2 to 4 months. Otherwise, the cost of maintenance
would mount up and it should be the object of the Home to
see that able-bodied men and women are put to productive
work from the commencement of their stay in the Industrial
Home, though it should also be seen that the erstwhile idlers
are broken into habits of industry and application step by step,
so that there may not be created in them a violent reaction
or disgust for work or manual labour. Younger men and women
may also be apprenticed in productive work in concerns willing
to take them up on a low remuneration to start with.

Accommodation in the Industrial Home. The Indus-
trial Home can be located in or preferably on the out-
skirts of the city, but it should be for obvious reasons within
easy and convenient access thereof so that the inmates may
easily go to their respective work in various industrial concerns
there. Otherwise, either a building will have to be hired in the
city for lodging the men and women working in mills, factories
and other concerns or easy transport facilities provided, which
can be done by keeping a few buses. As there is an Evacuation
Camp at Chembur, the Home may be located there, as such a
step will save large initial costs and help in launching the Scheme

138

A SCHEME FOB TACKLING THE BEGGAR PROBLEM

almost immediately. To start with, accommodation may be
provided for about 200 men and 100 women and more structures
may be put up gradually as the number of inmates increases.
There will have to be separate dormitories for men and women.
dining rooms, and some accommodation for families wherever
it is considered desirable to keep them together even for a
short time, before suitable arrangements are made either for the
entire family or separately for children. Kitchen, storeroom,
sanitary conveniences, baths, etc., and living quarters for the
personnel of the Home will have to be provided. There will
have to be two Sick Rooms for male and female inmates. If
suitable premises as stated above are available, they may be
utilised ; if not, I would first suggest the hiring or requisitioning
of some suitable property, and building later in the light of
experience gained. If, however, it is proposed to build im-
mediately I would suggest going in for reed or bamboo mat-
ting and mud-daubing for walls and asbestos sheets or zavli
(palm-leaf) for roofing, with raised plinths for flooring and Shah-
bad stones for pavements or ev r en cowdung-srneared flooring.
Care should be taken, however, to keep the premises clean and
sanitary. Millions of Indians live in such houses or huts and
Indian climate is such that, except for the monsoon, there is
no great hardship under such conditions. The structures should,
however, be airy, well-lighted and well-ventilated, and there
should be some thought given to careful planning, especially
of the dormitories, dining rooms and verandahs, so that utmost
use can be made of these enclosed spaces for more purposes than
one. Very often such large spaces are wasted or insufficiently
used.

Worksheds should be in the same compound and these
too can be first of a temporary nature constructed of materials
as above, so that they may not turn out to be inconvenient
for lack of forethought in planning.

The Industrial Home will Absorb all Classes of Able-bodied
Persons. The Industrial Home will be in a position to take up all
able-bodied persons, men and women, belonging to all the classes
from (a) to (e) for being trained for a job and assigned one when

139

OUR BEGGAR PROBLEM

the person is considered fit to take it. The training should not
take very long as it will not be suitable for grown up adults
and particularly of the types of mentally disintegrated adults
uprooted from their social moorings who will mostly constitute
the class of beggars arrested from streets.

Whether Man and Wife or Man and Woman should be
Lodged together and Allowed to Procreate. There will be
slight variations, however, with regard to the condi-
tions of residence for the classes formed of ' a man and
wife,' 'man and woman' and families including young children.
Two things will have to be decided, viz., (1) whether man and
wife and man and woman should be allowed to live together
and if they are allowed to live together (2) whether they should
be allowed to procreate freely or taught contraception so that
some check on the unwanted progeny in their initial helpless
condition may be exercised.

It would be diflicult to lay down hard and fast rules in
such cases and it should be left to the officials in charge to make
observations of the actual conditions of such people and put
up their proposals or recommendations from time to time for
consideration by the Managing Committee. But a few general
observations may be made in this respect. At first men and
women, to whatever category they may belong, may be separated
in two houses according to sex, unless one or the other is so
crippled, defective or helpless that he or she needs the help
of the other, in which case they may be allowed to stay in what
may be called Family Quarters. These may be in a separate
chawl, shed or enclosure. Similarly, each family with children
may be considered on its own merits. If there are very young
children, say under 4 or 5, they will have to be allowed to remain
with their mothers even if the latter are separated from their
husbands. Except in the above two types of cases, in the
initial stages of the Industrial Home, both the sexes may be
separated and the man and wife or man and woman, and parents
and children may be allowed to meet during certain hours of
the day. If the parents have a bad influence on their children,
they will have to be separated from them more completed. If,

140

A SCHEME FOR TACKLING THE BEGGAR PROBLEM

after observations extending over a month or more, the Guar-
dian Superintendent considers it helpful or beneficial to allow
families to live together, he may do so in selected cases.

Necessity of Contraception to Couples of Child-bearing Age.
But it will have to be impressed on the minds of the couples
that they should exercise restraint and not have children as
they will be born in very unhappy and helpless conditions and
that they should, therefore, take contraceptive measures to check
births. The teaching of simple methods of birth-control or con-
traception should be a. regular feature of the training of these
classes of couples of child-bearing age, as both in the case of
their remaining segregated in the Home or leaving it to seek
employment outside, this knowledge will be of help to them if
properly given. We will not discuss here the question of steriliza-
tion of the physically or mentally unfit, but it will force itself
on the attention of the authorities handling the beggar problem
sooner than they may imagine, if they are serious about a
systematic and scientific handling of the problem of poverty,
destitution and beggary whereof the defective and diseased
form a fairly large proportion.

The Defective, Disabled or Diseased. Now remain the class
of defectives, diseased or disabled to be considered. These
will be both owned and disowned or helpless. Those owned
may be given away if their parents or guardians are
willing to look after them and give an assurance not to
trade on them or abandon them to beg in the streets. Those
disowned and helpless will have to be taken care of by the Re-
habilition Committee. These will naturally be sorted out
at the Shelter, whence they can be directed to suitable places
according to the requirements of each case. It is difficult at
this stage to surmise the proportion of the utterly helpless or
disabled population of men, women and children among the
beggars of the city. The enumerators at the recent census of
the homeless for purposes of rationing, guessed the figure of
the disabled and defective to be about 3 to 5% in a population
of about lOjOOO, 1 i.e., about 300 to 500, whereas they put the

1 Vide Footnote 2, page 125

141

OUR BEGGAR PROBLEM

percentage of those suffering from various types of minor or
major skin diseases at 7 to 8%, i.e., 700 to 800.

Their Numbers. According to the Special Census of the
Corporation in November 1921 (referred to on pagel25), there
were 1,846 persons of both sexes " suffering from disabling
infirmities " out of a total population of 6,888 beggars, secular
as well as religious, as follows :

Ordinary
Beggars over 16

Religious
Beggars

Ordinary
under 16

Total

Disabled
Able-bodied

1,382
1,983

373

1,598

91
1,456

1,846
5,037

1,755 Disabled (Adults)

Male
1,249

Female
506

Their Classification and how to Occupy the Minds of some
of the Defective and Infirm but Partially Capable of Light Work.
The infirmities of these 1,846 disabled persons were classified
as followst:

Number of Beggars including

Nature of Infirmity

Secular and Religious

Above 16

Under 16 j Total

1. Infirm through old age

598

...

598 82.5%

2. Blind in both eyes

543

586 32%

3. Deformed

158

165*~-8.75%

4. Loss of limb

140

147* 8%

5. Paralysed

88* 5%

<i. Of Unsound mind

69 3.8%

7. Leprosy

8. Loathsome sores (Vcncral)

9. Deaf and Dumb

10. Other infirmities

Total

1,755

1,846

t Cp. Started Report pp. 21-22.

* These descriptions do not give us much idea about the actual nature
of defects, deformities or disabilities.

According to the above tables, we find that, leaving aside the
religious beggars, there were about (1,882+91 = 1,473) persons
of both sexes, who were suffering from some deformity or dis-

142

JV SCHEME FOE TACKLING THE BEGGAR PROBLEM

ability. Whether these infirmities were of such nature as to
incapacitate the persons for any productive work whatever is
not stated and we may take it that the blind, deaf and dumb,
some of the infirm through old age, and those who are classi-
fied as deformed or having lost a limb can be made to do some
Avork either with their hands or legs. It would be a desirable
thing to find out various types of lighter work or ancillary oper-
ations and processes which these defective or slightly infirm
persons can be appropriately called upon to perform. For,
it would be a good policy not to keep these people completely
idle ; if they are able to do some lighter work according to their
capacity and occupy their rninds for a few hours a day it will
4 lo them good. Besides healthily occupying their minds, they
will have the satisfaction of having contributed a little towards
their own keep. This may also be a lesson to the other able-
bodied confreres of theirs. Moreover, the number of such people
capable of partial work will be so large that it will be advanta-
geous actually to think out and devise some lighter kind of work
for these various types of defective or partially infirm people.

The Distribution of the Aged, Infirm and Deformed
Among Suitable Institutions. The consideration of the above
will also help us to decide upon the place or places
where these defective, diseased or disabled persons may
be kept. Now we cannot rely upon the above figures for
calculating the present probable total number of disabled
and defective or the number according to each classi-
fication. For, since 1921, the numbers may have been reduced
because of suitable institutions like hospitals, infirmaries or
'dharmashalas taking care of some of these persons from the
streets. All the same, we may have to deal with about 500 to
1 ,000 of such persons, the largest of this group even now being
the infirm through old age.

The Blind, Leprous and Insane to be sent to Respective
Existing Institutions. As regards the blind, the leprous and the
insane, it would be better to send them to the existing
appropriate institutions in and outside the city that care
for such persons. If the numbers become gradually so

143

OUK BEGGAR PROBLEM

large that the respective institutions are unable to
accommodate them because of shortage of funds for
requisite expenditure or lack of living space, it would be
advisable to help them to raise funds or contribute a certain
minimum share of expenses for every additional person sent to
them by the Rehabilitation Committee than to start new homes
or institutions for such persons on its own, as it will be much
more costly to do so, and perhaps the relief rendered may not
be as effective or good as the established institutions will be
able to render with their highly specialised knowledge and faci-
lities developed from long experience. Thus it will be better
to take the help of institutions like the Victoria Memorial School
for the Blind at Tardeo Road, the Sonavala Andhakshi Ashram
for Blind Women and Girls at Andheri, the Dadar School for
the Blind (educational for children upto 16), the Blind Relief
Association Industrial Home at Worli, the N. M. Petit Mental
Hospital at Thana, the Hospital for Mental Diseases at Poona,
the Acworth Leper Home at Matunga, the Albless Leper Home
at Chembur, etc.

Those Needing Constant Medical Attention to be sent to King
George V Infirmary. There will be another class of defectives,
diseased or infirm, who will require constant medical attention
or specialised treatment. The best place for such people
would be the King George V Memorial Infirmary, which
is conveniently situated in the City and where they
can get both medical care and nursing. With some
expansion, if necessary, on its available grounds, it can
accommodate a much larger number than 80 to 100 as
hitherto of the acute cases needing constant medical care, and
if funds have to be made available for the cases sent to it by
the Rehabilitation Committee, it would be financially more
advantageous to do so than to found another similar institu-
tion with tlie same purpose, as will have to be done for the num-
ber of chronic and acute deformed and defective that will be
found with or among the beggar population of the City. This
institution has still spacious grounds at its disposal and with
the augmentation of some staff and one or two cheaper structures,

144

A SCHEME FOR TACKLING THE BEGGAR PROBLEM

it can easily take in about 100 to 150 cases more if their main-
tenance charges at about twelve to fourteen annas per person
are provided*

Infirmary for Others and Asylum for the Aged. The next
type of Infirmary ( <^|<td-$W ) that we require will be
for the paralysed, deformed, deaf and dumb, those who have
lost a limb, and such others, but not requiring constant medical
attention or nursing. For such types of cases, the best
place for an Infirmary will be one close and attached to the
Industrial Home where the able-bodied persons are to be
lodged. For, the ayahs, ward-boys, attendants, sweepers
and others, who will be required for taking care of these,,
can be found and trained from among the able-bodied men
and women ; the cooking can be done by the kitchen de-
partment for the feeding of the able bodied persons and the
same supervising and clerical staff can look after the institution
with the help of a matron, a few nurses and ayahs, thus saving
a considerable amount in the cost of running a separate infir-
mary at a detached centre. Besides, some of the defectives
can, as stated above, use their hands and legs and give some
productive service, if and when possible. A further advantage
will be the possibility of training which the attached Infirmary
will afford to able-bodied men and women as ward-boys, atten-
dants, ayahs, domestic servants and the like.

For the -.same reason, the Asylum ( ^-f^TTT ) for the
aged and infirm should also be located near the Industrial Home
so that those, who can do some light work, may do so and if
they are too old and infirm, the work of attending to their needs
may be done by men and women drafted from the able-bodied
section of the inmates of the Industrial Home. Besides, located
as these various institutions will be in a less crowded part of
the outskirts of the city or the suburbs, their running will cost
much less than if they were located in the city, where they need
not be. I believe Chembur will be a very suitable place for such
people.

The Aged, Infirm and Defective will be a Fairly Heavy Liabi-
lity. All these three types of the diseased, deformed or infirm,

145

OUE BEGGAR PROBLEM

aged and infirm, and ordinary defective infirm will require feed-
ing, clothing and lodging, and some medical care and nursing.
iThey will be a fairly heavy liability, and a constant one at that,
until their numbers are gradually reduced by a better care of
the poor and destitute by some sort of country-wide legislation
like Poor Law or Social Insurance. For, till then, the beggars,
destitutes and poverty-stricken will be producing underfed,
under-nourished, maimed and mutilated progeny easily prone
to disease, defects and deformities.

The Main Objective of the Industrial Home, the Rehabilitation
of the Beggar or Destitute. It will happen that some of the
able-bodied men and women may give trouble in the Industrial
Home, some may commit small offences, thefts, etc. ; some
may be idlers, some shirkers, some may be violent or querulous
and the Guardian Superintendent and his subordinates will,
therefore, have to be given certain powers to punish for
first, second, third or frequent offences or breach of disci-
pline. These punishments may be suited to the gravity of the
offence, but the first general objective of the Home should be
to reform or reorientate the inmate through indirect and
persuasive or educative influence by providing a suitable at-
mosphere in which he or she lives and works. The idea of
condemnation or punishment should be absent as far as possi-
ble in the normal routine of the Home to which the beggar
is first introduced. It should not be taken to be a Reformatory
or Prison but a real Home for Rehabilitation, and the spirit of
genuine helpfulness through understanding of the past and
present life-history and condition of the individual beggar
and beggar-family should actuate the rehabilitation efforts of
the Home and its officials. It is with this idea that two posts
of an Honorary Psychiatrist and a paid trained Assistant have
been proposed on the staff of the Industrial Home and Infir-
mary as such help will also be required for dealing with several
problem cases that will be inevitably found among this class
of detribalised population of life-long beggars.

Work-House or Penitentiary for the Habitual Offender orlncorri-
gible> However, with the best of atmosphere and intentions, there

146

A SCHEME FOR TACKLING THE BEGGAR PROBLEM

will be hardened souls who will revolt against discipline and the
so-called confinement in a reform home. Minor punishments
such as reproach, withholding of a meal, prolongation of the
period of remand in the Home, or not allowing the good-behavi-
our period for earlier release, etc., may be inflicted in case of
deliberate and frequent violation of discipline or bad behaviour
by the Guardian Superintendent or his Assistant. If the in-
mates are still unrepentant, cause trouble or refuse to submit
themselves to discipline, a charge sheet may be framed against
them and they may be produced before a Magistrate who may
give a punitive sentence ranging from a few days to some months
in the Work*Hou$e or Penitentiary ( ^fK-^IHI ). The incor-
rigibles and those that are caught begging a third time after
two previous convictions and remand for begging may be sent
to this institution, where the treatment should be humane but
where discipline should be firm and the offenders are put to hard
work such as of grinding corn, agriculture and dairy work, etc.,
in addition to all the household work for themselves such as
sweeping their own premises, cooking their own food, washing
their own clothes, etc. However, the spirit pervading the Work-
House or Penitentiary should not be exactly that of a prison
and the inmates should not be brutalised or hardened into
criminals by unduly harsh treatment. The object should be to
make the inmate or offender feel sorry for his offence, violation
of rules, breach of discipline or persistent anti-social behaviour
and bring him round. The officials of the Industrial Home
and particularly the psychiatrists should not be entirely out of
touch with the inmates of the Penitentiary, and gentle methods
of reform through persuasion and some kindness should be
simultaneously employed.

Its Management. For the above reasons, however, the
institution recommended above will have to be located not far
from the Industrial Home, (though it should be at some distance
from it), and should be in its own enclosure with a necessary
wall. The officials in charge should be different from those of
the Industrial Home at least after the number of such incorri-
gibles has reached over 2Q or 25. This institution should not

14,7

OUR BEGGAR PROBLEM

be started till some experience in the running of the Industrial
Home has been acquired.

Treatment of the First, Second and Third Remands and of
Absconders. A word or two may be said here about
the remand of the beggar to the Shelter and hous-
ing him in the Industrial Home. At the first arrest,
as we have already indicated before, we need not treat
him harshly but try our best to rehabilitate him if
he is amenable to such kindly treatment. The Shelter Super-
visor may have the power to release him under circumstances
already stated, before his term of remand for three months or
less expires. The Guardian Superintendent of the Industrial
Home and Asylum-Infirmary should have similar powers of
releasing the inmates after a shorter or longer period on the
first arrest and remand, if he is satisfied that the inmate so re-
leased is genuinely desirous of going back to normal life and
will not revert to begging.

On the second arrest of a released inmate, however, the term
of institutionalisation will have to be longer, say six months,
and he will have to remain under strict surveillance, and his
movements and freedom in the Industrial Home will have to
be curtailed. Such second arrests will have to be housed in a
separate shed, perhaps under a watchman in order to prevent
them from absconding. That is also the reason why we have
suggested a wall or enclosure for the Industrial Home of the
able-bodied and the engagement of night and day watchmen.
In case of the second remands, the Shelter Supervisor or Guard-
ian Superintendent should have no power to release, but if
he is satisfied that after three months of stay, the inmate may
be released with advantage, he may make a recommendation
accordingly to the Management Committee or to the Magistrate
who may pass orders as he thinks advisable.

As regards the Magistrates before whom the arrested beg-
gars may be produced, they can be either a special panel or
panels of Honorary Magistrates or Stipendiary Magistrates who
may appoint particular hours of the day two or three times a
week for hearing and disposing of such cases of beggars pro-

148

-A SCHEME FOR TACKLING THE BEGGAE PROBLEM

duced before them by the Police or the authorised Agents of the
Rehabilitation Committee.

With regard to those arrested for a third time for begging,
and especially those who had absconded from the Shelter, In-
dustrial Home, Asylum or Infirmary, stricter punishment and
control may be necessary. So long, however, as they are willing,
they may be put to productive work ; if they refuse, shirk, mal-
linger or commit breaches of discipline or commit frequent
offences they must be dealt with as a class of incorrigibles. It
will, however, be a matter for consideration as to whether able-
bodied inmates should be allowed to remain in the Industrial
Home longer than a year. If they are such as to be unable
to find work or look after themselves, give no trouble and like
to remain under the sheltered care of the Institution, willingly
doing the entrusted work, the institution should undertake the
responsibility of housing, feeding and providing productive work
for such persons in their interest as well as of the entire idea
of rehabilitation. But generally it should be the aim of the
institution to train and rehabilitate the able-bodied person in
such a way that he is able to take care of himself as an ordinary
citizen after institutional care of a short duration. For the
same reasons, those destitutes, .who, instead of resorting to beg-
ging, voluntarily seek refuge in the Shelter or Industrial Home
will have to be provided for in a suitable way after proper in-
vestigation.

PART III
MANAGEMENT AND FINANCE

Organisation, Management and Finance. As already
stated above, the tackling of the beggar question is a
country- wide problem and it will ultimately have to be handled
on that scale if a satisfactory solution thereof is contemplated.
In the long run it will certainly defy scattered and desultory
efforts of individual cities or provinces, for, the beggars migrate
from long distances and a majority of those found in a city very
often belong not to the city itself nor to the province in the sense

149

OUR BEGGAR PROBLEM

that they are born there, but to other cities or provinces. 1 For
the effective handling of the problem, repatriation and prohibition
of unauthorised immigration into the city of foreign or non-in-
digenous beggars will have to be two important remedial mea-
sures, and to achieve that co-operation between Provinces and
States, co-ordination and legislation on an all-India basis by
the Central Government will be necessary. That stage, may,
however, be long to reach, even though inevitable at last, once
the problem of beggars is begun to be seriously tackled by the
metropolitan cities.

However that may be, we have already stressed the neces-
sity of close co-operation between the Provincial Government,
the Municipal Corporation and the citizens in general for a
proper handling of the beggar problem in every city. All the
three bodies will have to share the responsibility not only of
raising the finances but also of management and supervision
of the institutions as interested parties.

Finance. A Small Percentage of U.I.P. Tax may be set
aside for this Purpose in the Earlier Stages. As regards
finances, I believe as the beggars are not all or even
a majority of them made in the city but come from mofussil
towns and villages of the province and from beyond the provin-
cial borders, the Provincial Government must bear the major
share of the expenses, i.e., in the ultimate analysis, the general
tax-payer. Now a major portion of the expenses can be met
if the Government of Bombay at least for some time to come,
agree to set apart a varying percentage of the Urban Immoveable
Property Tax for the expenses of this scheme of rehabilitating

1 For instance, when a survey of the beggars of about 16 Wards of the City of Calcutta
waa made by Dr. E. Muir of the School of Tropical Medicine some years ago, it was found
that they were composed f the following indigenous and immigrant population :

From Non-leprous Beggars Leprous Beggars

Bengal 471 21

Bihar &Orissa
United Provinces
Central Province
Others

121 (1,743 22

78 f 120

1,155 .

!8 ^
S2 {2

2,214 224

(The Calcutta Municipal Gazette, Sixth Health Number pp. 26-28)

In the cities of Mysore and Bangalore out of 2,800 and 5,749 beggars, the numbers of
those born outside the State were 1,190 and 2,200 respectively, i.e., 40% being entirely
from outside the State boundaries. (Vide p. 108 Mysore Beggar Committee Report 1948).

150

A SCHEME FOR TACKLING THE BEGGAR PROBLEM

the beggars. At present they levy in the city of Bombay a
tax of 8^% or 7% on properties according as their annual
Ratable Value is above Rs. 500 or 2,000, those below Rs. 500
being exempted. This tax in the City brings them an annual
revenue of about Rs. 87,00,000. If $ or f of 1% or 1% of su<jh
a tax on properties in the City were set aside for the handling
of the beggar problem, the amount would come to above Rs.
7,25,000, Rs. 11,00,000 and Rs. 14,50,000 on a total Ratable
Value of about Rs. 14J crores exclusive of exemptions allowed
under the Municipal Act.

The Boiubay Municipality collects the U.I.P., Tax for Gov-
ernment and receives a rebate of 2% on the total amount for its
expenses of collection. The Government can earmark this \
to 1 % of the Urban Property Tax for the expenses of the beggar
salvage scheme at least for the time being till other sources of
taxation can be found, though there is no reason why this source
may not be allowed to continue even when the U.I.P., Tax is
abolished or given up in favour of the Municipality as its exclusive
sphere of taxation. Such a tax can also be collected in other
provincial cities, as is done at present in Ahmedabad and Shblapur,
and even in smaller towns to meet what will ultimately be a
much larger expenditure of rehabilitating the very large number
of beggars in the whole province. The Municipality can forego
its rebate on the collection of the tax for this purpose or con-
tribute a certain amount as its own share.

As the beggars would hail from all over the province, when
the expenditure rises over this revenue from the property tax,
a certain proportion, upto a maximum of the same amount as
realised from the \ to 1 % tax, may be contributed by the Pro-
vincial Government from the general provincial revenues in
order effectively to tackle this problem of beggars which, in its
ultimate analysis, will be a problem of solving the social malaise
of poverty, destitution and malingering. Various cities in the
West contribute part or whole of the entertainment tax towards
the maintenance of the poor law institutions or levy a stamp
duty or a small surcharge on transfer of properties or derive

151

OUR BEGGAR PROBLEM

a small income from marriage tax, all of which can be tried in
our country also as found suitable.

Other Sources of Income Private and Public Charities and
Endowments. Other sources of revenue would be a large
number of communal Charity Trusts or Endowments,
wealthy philanthropists and the public or citizens at
large. There are several Hindu SadSvrats, Dharmashalas
and Trusts and Muslim Wakfs and Jamatkhanas that
provide meals to the poor and destitute, feed beggars
as well as Brahmins, Sadhus and Fakirs. Some have regular
premises and endowments whose incomes are utilised
towards distributing dry rations or cooked meals. Some
of these can be induced to divert their income to feed a fixed
number of beggars at the Shelter, Industrial Home, Asylum
or Infirmary for a fixed number of days or 365 days of the year
according to their income or the amount they can spare for the
purpose. The required or agreed number may be assigned to
each of the Sadavrats, Trusts or Wakfs offering their co-opera-
tion. Similar appeals to feed or bear the full expenses of main-
tenance of one or more beggars occasionally or all the year round
can be made to charitably or religiously minded citizens, and
it is reasonable to hope that the appeal of a well organised body
or reputed citizens, Corporators and Government Officials will
not go in vain. 1

The question of meeting the expenses has often frightened
all parties concerned, viz., Government, the Municipality and
the public citizens, apprehending that looking to the enormous
numbers of beggars counted at the various censuses, the cost
would be colossal. But then the most veterate beggar rarely
likes to forego his liberty and remain under discipline for long
in an institution however inviting the atmosphere thereof may
otherwise be. One cannot, therefore, subscribe to the fear that
beggars and vagrants from all over tne country will swamp

1 A person who gives a sum of Rs 8,000, the interest of which may be used for main-
taining one helpless, infirm or aged beggar throughout the year, may have a plaque or tablet
inscribed on a Memorial Pillar of Donors to be kept at a suitable place. This might induce
several citizens to contribute their mite towards the scheme either in their own name or in
Che names of their dear departed ones.

Jk SCHEME FOR TACKLING THE BEGGAR PROBLEM

such institutions and be a permanent burden on the cities har-
bouring them.

Further, the cost of tackling a social malady or evil syste-
matically and scientifically is not more in the long run than the
cost incurred by the Society at large, trying in a loose, disorganised
manner to palliate the resulting evils or suffering of the festering
sore (vide Appendix III for costs worked out on a Provincial
and on an all-India basis).

The Rehabilitation Committee or Committee of Management
and Representation thereon. The various institutions can be
under the charge of Government or Municipality, the
officials being either under one of the departments of
the Secretariat or the Municipal Commissioner, with
^Government or Municipal Service and Pension or Provident
Fund Rules and Regulations being made applicable to them.
However, as Charity Trusts, Endowments and the public will
always be in a position to make a contribution towards the
expenses of the rehabilitation of beggars, it would be advisable
to let them have some representation on the management of
what may be called the Poor Man's Rehabilitation Scheme.
The Committee of Management may not, however, be made an
unwieldy body and I would suggest the following tentative com-
position of the Rehabilitation Committee :

Eight representatives of Government, including (1) the
Secretary and (2) Under-Secretary of the Department in Charge,
(3) the Commissioner of Police, (4) the Commissioner of Labour,
(5) the Labour Welfare Officer, (6) the Officer in Charge of King
George V Infirmary, who will also represent the Salvation Army
and (7-8) two others, preferably representing the two Railway
Administrations.

Six representatives of the Municipal Corporation, inclusive
of the Mayor and the Municipal Commissioner or his Deputy,
and four Corporators.

Four representatives of the Sadavarts, Wakfs, Trusts, etc.,
donating not less than Rs. 1,000 in cash or kind per annum
appointed at a meeting of one representative of each of such

153

OUR BEGGAR PROBLEM!

trusts called by Government for the purpose at a place appointed
by them.

Four representatives of the donor citizens of Rs. 100/- per
annum and upwards elected at a meeting of such donors in the
year, called by Government on an appointed day for the purpose. 1

President, Vice-President, Secretaries, and other Office-
Bearers. The Secretary of the Government Department in Charge
may preside at the meetings called once a month or oftener as
required, or the Committee may be allowed to elect its own
President for a term of 3 years, so that the services of a person
conversant with the working of the institutions may be avail-
able, which would not happen if the President were to change
every year. A Vice-President to preside in the absence of the
President ; he may be elected. One of the members and one
of the superior officials in charge of one of the institutions, pre-
ferably the Industrial Home, may act as Jt. Hon. Secretaries,
the non-official Jt. Secretary holding office for three years in
order to preserve continuity of working.

The officers in charge of the Shelter, Industrial Home,
Asylum, Infirmaries and the Work-House or Penitentiary may
be ordinarily allowed to attend the meetings and when their
presence is not required, they may be requested to leave the
meetings for the time being. They may supply the required
information to the Committee, whereas the Guardian Superin-
tendent of the Industrial Home and Asylum and Infirmary
may act as the permanent Jt. Secretary of the Committee. Foi
purposes of co-ordination of the wx>rk of various institutions
under the Scheme, he may be appointed as the supervising
authority over all of them.

Much will depend upon the interest the members of the Com-
mittee may take, but much more certainly on the officials chosen
to take charge of the various institutions. They will have to be
men of training, vision and adaptability with a broad outlook on
life, broader human sympathies, and vigour and zeal for execution.

1 It would be advisable to appoint on the Committee one or two representatives of the
Children's Aid Society so that easier cooperation and interchange of experience between
the Society and Rehabilitation Committee may be rendered possible to the advantage of
both the bodies. With the same end in view it may be helpful to appoint one representa-
tive each of the Social Service League and the Salvation Army on the Committee.

154

A SCHEME FOB TACKLING THE BEGGAR PROBLEM

In any case they must be men who have received some training and
practical experience of the type of welfare work they will be called
upon to do.

The Problem will have to be Tackled Gradually as 'Funds*
Accommodation and Arrangements Permit and not All at once.
The above is a rough skeleton of a scheme for handling the
rather difficult but not bafflng problem of beggars. It will
have to be discussed in greater detail by a committee or con-
ference of interested and experienced members, suitably amended
as required and any lacunae duly filled in. The problem will
present difficulties in the initial stages but they will not be in-
surmountable if the Government, the Municipality and the citi-
zens in general are willing to play their respective part and
begin on a modest scale. None should think that the entire
beggar population of the city should or could be arrested and
institutionalised in a day, a month or a year. Effect may be
given to the enactment gradually and arrests may be made in
smaller batches as our facilities permit. If the proposed insti-
tutions are filled up sooner than expected, the seizure activities
may be slowed down till more room, more facilities and the
requisite funds are available.

A programme of arrests after the enactment of legislation
may be prepared and those suffering from loathsome sores,
leprosy, crippling defects and contagious or infectious diseases
may be arrested first and appropriately dealt with as suggested
above. Batches of able-bodied men and women of a pestering
and persistent type, well known to all pedestrians and the public
travelling by bus, tram and train, may be attended to in manage-
able numbers later or simultaneously from certain places popular
with the beggars. This will have a very salutary effect on a
large number of the begging fraternity and their leaders or orga-
nisers who may then be compelled to direct their attention
elsewhere. It is a remarkable fact observed wherever legislation
for the prevention of beggary has been introduced that, almost
on the first impact of its enforcement, from 50 to 75% of the
beggar population of the place somehow or other makes itself
scarce in a very short time.

155

OUR BEGGAR PROBLEM

The Present is an Opportune Time for Handling the
Problem. Accommodation Available. The present is an opportune
time for making a start, for the accommodation for the initial
two Institutions most necessary for our purpose, viz., the
Shelter and the Industrial Home with two Infirmaries and
Asylum for the aged, can already be made available. There is
room for 70 to 80 infirm and about 150 destitute inmates at
the King George V, Memorial Infirmary and Lady Dhunbai
Home for the Destitutes at Haines Road, and accommodation
for 500 to 600 inmates in the sheds erected for the Evacuation
Camp at Chembur. With further negotiations with the autho-
rities in charge of the two institutions and with suitable
legislation which can be passed expeditiously, the work can
begin after the initial personnel has been engaged. No doubt, a
good deal of hard work lies ahead of the organisers, but the
problem calls for such work and its successful solution will be
its own reward.

From the city the handling of the problem may spread to
other sister cities in the province and with mutual co-operation
to the entire province in due course. Later, the inter-provincial
problems of repatriation, bearing proportionate expenditure of
its own provincials, etc., may have to be tackled and the Central
Government may have to be moved to legislate on an all-India
basis. 1 These are inevitable corollaries, but the first spade work
has to be done by and in the metropolitan cities. The problem
after all cannot be so gigantic as to defy all earnest attempts,
which, we must remember, have not been properly and adequately
made so far; and if systematically tackled, the efforts will yield
results, if not immediately, certainly in due course. But
there can be no twa opinions about the fact that a beginning
has to be made some day either by Government, Municipalities
or some citizen public. 2

1 It may be of interest to know that the acuteness of the beggar nuisance is so keenly
felt in several cities of India and Ceylon that either legislation has already been enacted or
bills have been introduced making begging an offence and providing for institutional relief
in the following Provinces and States, viz. :

Aete: Colombo (1906), Madras (1041), Hyderabad-Deccan, (1941), Lucknow (1942).
Rules in Municipalities, Railways, etc. Indian Railway* (1941), Bangalore (1940),

Cawnpore (1939), Nagpur (1941). Bills by Committees appointed report C.P. Govt.

(1942-8). U. P. Govt. (1941), Sind (1940), Mysore (1941), Cochin (1940).

2 The Scheme has been worked out with a view to make it applicable to large cities.

156

A SCHEME FOR TACKLING THE BEGGAR PROBLEM

Smaller towns will however have similar problems to face though on a minor scale. Each
small town may not be able to provide the different kinds of institutions required for different
types of beggars, nor can they afford singly to incur such expenditure. Besides, if the num-
ber of persons to be cared for is small, it would be wasteful to provide different types of in-
stitutions and engage efficient personnel for each one of them as required. For such smaller
towns, it would be better to combine and locate the yarioug institutions in one central and
convenient place and bear proportionate expenditure according to the number of beggars
in their particular jurisdiction. Several neighbouring taluka towns or a whole district can
thus combine, avail themselves of the existing specialized institutions for lepers, blind, insane
or cripple in the District and only found such additional institutions as are required in a
conveniently accessible and suitable centre, contributing their proportionate quota of expen-
diture to the entire Scheme. One or more towns will either have to take the initiative in
such cases or the head of the District will have to do so inviting Government officials and
local bodies to a preliminary conference to work out the details of such a scheme for the Dis-
trict or a group of towns.

15T

LEGISLATION RELATING TO BEGGARY

Mr. John Barnabas discusses the need of legislation for the
elimination of beggary and shows how this need was met
in some of the countries of the West. Further, he points
out the existing legal provisions in India which could be used
for the control of vagrancy as well as the merits and demerits
of the various Bills and recent Acts enacted for the pre-
vention of beggary. In the light of our experience and that
of the West, he makes valuable suggestions for the framing
of an ideal Vagrancy Act.

FRHAPS India is the only country in the world where
fourteen lakhs of its population wander about the streets
with perfect freedom, living on the spontaneous, un-
organized charity of individual citizens. Again, it is
India where alone the Census Report can consider fit to list
* beggary ' and * vagrancy ' among the occupations or means
of livelihood, though unproductive. Still again, in this age
of science, it is India which unlike other prgressive countries,
gives beggary a professional status. Though beggars may
be found in other parts of the civilized world, it is here that
the public without the least feeling of disagrace tolerates per-
sistent, open and methodical begging in public places without

159

OUR BEGGAR PROBLEM

let or hindrance. While in the West the beggar begs on the
sly and that too under the cover of some petty trade and the citi-
zen gives alms with a feeling of remorse, in India the beggar
begs importunately with the attitude of one demanding his daily
wages or with the contentment of one proudly carrying on his
parental prof ession ; the citizen, in his turn, doles out his charity
with religious unction and the self-satisfaction of doing a good
deed. Indeed, public begging is so common in our country
largely because, on the one hand, it carries with it no invidious
implications while, on the other, it claims to have the support
of religion.

As a result, the beggar in India has taken undue advantage
of his social liberty, or has been forced to do so by circumstances
over which he has no control. Similarly, the public has mis-
judged its social obligation, its religious duty and its economic
responsibility. It has yet to realize that the maintenance of
vagrants at public expense is contrary to sound economic law,
detrimental to the common good and unscientific as philanth-
ropy. The beggar's existence on the street, as has been pointed
out elsewhere in this book, is a great menace to public health.
And, what is more, it is disastrous to the normal growth and
development* of the personality of the beggar himself.

Does Religion Sanction Beggary'! What then shall we do
with him ? How shall we tackle this problem ? The fact that
beggary and charity are closely associated in the popular mind
with religion makes it all the more difficult to put through mea-
sures of control. The common belief is that beggary has the
sanction of religion and that individual almsgiving is essential
for salvation. Hence, any attempt to prevent beggary naturally
meets with opposition. If one were to read the reports of dis-
cussions on the beggar problem in Corporations and other bodies
during the 20's of this century, he would find ample evidence
of vehement opposition on religious ground to measures proposed
for the prevention of public begging. The poor are always with
us, they say, and the beggar is there as a perpetual reminder
to the more fortunate of the miseries of mankind a reminder
which may have a sobering effect on the natural tendency of

160

LEGISLATION RELATING TO BEGGARY

the average man to be worldly. Then again, the beggar is
there, we are told, by divine sanction to give an opportunity
to the privileged to be charitable and fctore up merit for their
own salvation. He undergoes physical damnation for the spi-
ritual benefit of others ! If the beggar thus fills a moral neces-
sity in society, why should, they ask, the State try to eliminate
beggary and thus deprive others of the opportunity of attaining
Nirvana through giving of alms?

Is this view tenable ? Does religion really sanction beg-
gary ? As far back as 1919, the Bombay Government appointed
an influential and representative Committee to consider and
formulate proposals for the prevention of professional beggary
in the Bombay Presidency. Regarding the status of 4 religious *
beggars, the Committee consulted fourteen heads of religious
denominations of Hinduism and Jainism, and twenty-three
gentlemen of Muslim faith. In addition to these, they consulted
six leading citizens in each of the districts of the Bombay Pro-
vince, recommended by the District Magistrates. The gist 1
of this interesting and valuable finding is given below :

1. 4fc There is no such thing as professional beggary among
the followers of (1) Zoroastrianism, (2) Jainism in its two schools
of Murtipujaks and non-Murtipujaks, and (3) Vaishnavite School
of Vallabhacharya and Swamy Narayan. Similarly, among
high class Sanyasins of the Shankaracharya Smarta School
the nuisance is comparatively insignificant.

2. "A large majority of professional religious mendicants
who infest public streets come out of certain sects or denomina-
tions like Bawas, Bairagis, Jangams and Nagda having no re-
ligious or secular education.

3. " There is a concensus of opinion among religious heads
of recognised denominations of Hinduism that although begging
is permissible among those who renounce the world, the present
mode of going-a-begging in public streets and thoroughfares
is unjustifiable.

The Committee found some difference of opinion regarding

1 As summarised by Mr. and Mrs. Kodanda Rao and published in a Pamphlet brought
out by the Soeiety for the Elimination of Beggary in Nagpur.

OUR BEGGAR PROBLEM

Islamic sanction for beggary, but even those who thought that
the ' asking and making of charity' was sanctioned by Islam
agreed " that the pest of beggars on public streets ought to be
Stopped."

The final conclusion of the Committee was as follows :
** The opinions collected by us leave no room for doubt that
whatever may be the interpretation of the texts of Hindu or
Mohammadan sacred literature on the questions of begging,
there is a concensus of opinion that begging in public streets
and places as a profession is contrary to modern notions of re-
ligious sancitity."

Similarly, a special committee, appointed by the Mysore
-Government to examine the problem of beggary in Mysore State
and to suggest measures to eliminate it, recently issued its Report.
One of its most interesting sections 1 deals with the question
Is Beggary in India Enjoined by Religion ? The conclusion
reached by the committee is that in Hindu Law only an ascetic
is allowed to beg. And even he who embraces asceticism must
first make provision for the maintenance of his wife and sons.
As for Islam, the direct descendants of the Prophet stated
"" Curse be on him who, though capable of bearing his burden,
throws it on another." Islam also ordains for the fakir the
Muslim religious mendicant that his " first duty is to earn his
livelihood by hard work." Likewise, Zoroastrianism does not
enjoin begging : " Man is born to work and prosper, not to

rest and rust Work is the law of life, for the poor

and the rich alike."

The authentic findings of the above two committees make
it clear that no religion approves of the sort of begging which
encourages idleness, nor of indiscriminate charity to idlers and
loafers. The liberty given to a beggar with infectious disease
to use public paths, roads and conveyances, and infect the
healthy public amounts to irrational liberty. And yet lakhs of
beggars in India are allowed this irreligious, dangerous and para-
sitic liberty. On this question of liberty John Stuart Mill,
no unreasoning advocate of interference with personal freedom

1 Report of the Committee for the Prevention of Beggary in Mysore, 1048, Chapter IV.

162

LEGISLATION RELATING TO BEGGARY

remarked : " Whenever there is a definite damage, or a de-
finite risk of damage, either to an individual or to the public
the case is taken out of the province of liberty and placed in
that of morality and law." The tradition of public charity
can no longer be allowed to protect the beggar, for that
tradition is misplaced philanthropy. We need, therefore, to
resort to more scientific methods of protection, care and rehabi-
litation of the vagrant.

Why People Give Alms. Before taking up for consideration
the legal measures dealing with beggary, we shall examine the
contention of some who say that beggary would be stopped if
nobody gave alms. So far back as 1764, Dr. Burns in his " His-
tory of the Poor Law" asserted that "there is one infallible
way to put an end to all this, and the easiest in the world, which
consists merely in non-feasance. Give them nothing. If none
were to give, none would beg, and the whole mystery and craft
would be at an end in a fortnight." Admirable as the sugges-
tion is, it is equally impracticable. People in every country
and at all times have acted just the other way. The urge to
give alms, even when the giver and the receiver are both ac-
cursed, is too strong to be curbed voluntarily. In an interesting
study of the "Psychology of Almsgiving" Dr. Clifford Man-
shardt suggests that there are* six main reasons why people give
alms :

1. Religious Reasons. Every religion enjoins upon its
followers the giving of alms. Followers of most religions believe
in laying up of treasures in Heaven by almsgiving.

2. Sanction of Custom. In ancient India Brahmins were
supported by other members of society. Begging in India is
associated with the ' superior ' class, and therefore no stigma
is attached. Almsgiving and virtue of pity have been the cele-
brated theses of the Hindu religious tradition. The " Fakirs "
claim begging to be their ' ancestral profession.'

3. Personal Reasons. (a) To experience the glow of hap-
piness which is associated with the doing of a good deed. It
satisfies one's ego. We like to receive the thanks and blessings
of the recipient, (b) The hope of acquiring personal gain. A

168

OUR BEGGAR PROBLEM

man losing money in the share bazaar or racing gives alms as
a prayer to get back the money. When the child is ill the mother
promises alms to the poor before the family deity in return for
the health of the child. Relatives give alms to the poor when
a person is dead to lighten the gravity of his sins, (c) The
blessings of the beggar appeal to certain fundamental human
wishes : The wish for self-preservation is appealed to when the
beggar says "may you live long;" the wish for security when
he says " may you enjoy prosperity," or the wish for progeny
when he says " may you have many children."

4. There are many who give alms due to fear afraid of
the curses of the beggar given in the name of God when a beg-
gar is refused alms.

5. Out of Instantaneous Pity. The emaciated baby, the
mutilated body, the blind, the lame, the leprous, all evoke pity.

6. The Careless Giver. To the rich change in the pocket
is a burden to be gotten rid of.

Thus one can see that the general motive in almsgiving is
to derive personal benefit. The urge is a selfish one and no act
having such multiple urges can be withheld without external
compulsion. The legal way is the only way out. And the ex-
perience of other countries shows clearly that the problem can-
not be solved unless the beggar is compelled by legislation to
quit the streets, and enter institutions provided for him*
We shall here take the example of a few countries and examine
their methods of tackling the problem.

Vagrancy Control in England. " In Tudor times attempts
were made by law to check almsgiving in so far as it encouraged
idleness and vagrancy; 1 and as late as 1744 (17 George II) a
law was passed ^exposing to a penalty of not less than IDs. or
more than 40s. (or, in default, one month's detention in a house
of correction), any person who knowingly gave to a rogue or
vagabond lodging or a shelter and refrained from handing him
over to a constable." 2

The problem of beggary is intimately linked up with the

1 Statute of 27 Henry VIII, e. 25.

2 Dawson, William H., The Vagrancy Problem, p. 91.

164

LEGISLATION RELATING TO BEGGARY

problem of employment and poor relief. Industrial England
has guarded against the possibilities of dire poverty, starvation
and beggary by a system of Poor Laws, Unemployment Acts
and Social Insurance Schemes. " The first public social service
to be established in England and Wales was the Poor Law.
The great economic changes of the 15th and 16th centuries,
above all the enclosure of arable land for sheep pastures and
the expansion of urban industry and commerce, gave rise to
problems with which medieval institutions were incapable of
dealing. Feudal society was breaking up, and the landless men
who began to rove the countryside and people the towns could
not be provided for their adversity by voluntary almsgiving
or through the mutual assistance funds of decaying guilds. Some
statutory provision was needed and, after a period of local ex-
periment characteristic of English social history, a national
system of poor relief was brought into being towards the end
of the reign of Elizabeth. The great Act which consolidated
the Elizabethan Poor Law was passed in 1601 and, although the
administrative details have been profoundly modified during the
last 340 years, it remains in principle the basis of our system
of providing for those who have no other means of support." 1

In the year 1937 out of a total of about five hundred mil-
lion pounds spent by Britain on what are known as Public Social
Services, more than three hundred million pounds were spent
on poor relief, housing, widows, orphans and old age pensions,
health insurance, unemployment insurance and allowances.
It is the expenditure on these items that helps them to solve
their beggar problem. It takes a network of public social ser-
vices to tackle poverty in all its ugly aspects.

In Europe. It is noteworthy that, irrespective of the form
of Government a country may have, the treatment of the vagrant
has been carried out most systematically on the Continent. In
the Swiss Republic this question is regulated by Cantonal Laws.
The Federal Legislation on the subject, dating from 1850, merely
orders that vagrants and mendicants shall be dealt with in the
Cantons in which they may be arrested in accordance with the

1 Owen, A. D., British Social Services, p. 6.

165

OUR BEGGAR PROBLEM

laws of those Cantons, yet adding that, if of foreign nationa-
lity, they shall be expelled from the country. The law in
force in the Canton of Berne, for example, states that:

" Vagrancy, namely, the wandering from place to place of

persons without means and without the object of obtaining

honest employment, is punishable with imprisonment and

hard labour not exceeding sixty days, or with committal

to a labour institution for a term between six months and

two years ; on the repetition of the offence the vagrant is

always to be committed to a labour institution."

Persons who apply for help from a Relief Station and refuse

to accept suitable work when offered to them may be treated

as ' shirkers ' and as such they are liable to detention in a labour

institution for any period between several months and several

years. The police are empowered to arrest beggars without

special warrant, and the husbands and fathers who evade their

domestic responsibilities, and even the town loafer, who hangs

about the street corners, may be apprehended and committed

to a Forced Labour House by a very summary process.

Germany, so dissimilar in its form of Government from
Switzerland, has dealt with beggary on similar lines. Down
to the 16th century, Germany was satisfied with the mere prohi-
bition of mendicant practices. A resolution of the Diet at
Landau in 1497 simply forbade vagabondage, and ordered the
authorities to exercise supervision over the beggars of all kinds.
In 1532 Emperor Charles V in Article 30 of this Penal Court
Ordinance similarly enjoined the authorities to " exercise
vigilant oversight over beggars and vagrants," and in 1557 the
Imperial Police Ordinance sanctioned the issue of begging let-
ters to poor people for whose support local funds did not exist.
Inspite of these prohibitive orders, beggary was a terrible nui-
sance as late as the end of the 18th century. Then it was that
the idea of the disciplinary treatment of the vagrant took root
and special institutions came into existence known as Labour
Houses. When the Empire was established, the practice of
the various states was embodied in the Imperial Penal Code,
and Labour House treatment is now the recognised mode of

166

LEGISLATION RELATING TO BEGGARY

correcting sloth, loafing and habitual intemperance and im-
morality throughout Germany. 1

Sections 361 and 862 of the Penal Code define as follows the
offences which may entail detention in a Labour House :

(1) Whoever wanders about as a vagabond.

(2) Whoever begs or causes children to beg or neglects
to restrain from begging such persons as are under his
control and oversight and belong to his household.

(3) Whoever is so addicted to gambling, drunkenness, or
idleness that he falls into such a condition as to be
compelled to seek public help himself, or for those for
whose maintenance he is responsible.

(4) Any female who is placed under police control owing
to professional immorality when she acts contrary
to the police regulations issued in the interest of health*
public order, and public decency, or who without
being under such control, is guilty of professional
immorality.

(5) Any person who, while in receipt of public relief, refuses,
out of sloth, to do such work suited to his strength as
the authorities may offer him.

(6) Any person who, after losing his past lodging, fails to
procure another within the time allotted to him by
the competent authority and who cannot prove that
inspite of his best endeavours he has been unable to
do so.

It should be noted that begging according to this law is a
cognizable offence ; that not only the beggar but one who en-
courages begging is also liable to punishment ; that all begging*
and not only importunate begging is punishable by law. (We
shall later point out the similarity between the wide definition
of the term * vagrant ' given in this law and that of the Cochin
Vagrancy Bill.)

Belgium's Beggars' Depots and Houses of Refuge. Only after
experimenting in many directions did the legislation of Belgium

1 We are not able to secure information regarding conditions of vagrancy during the
Hitler regime. But we have reason to believe that no appreciable change is effected in this
Bphere by Hitler, at least, no change for the worse.

167

OUR BEGGAR PROBLEM

for the treatment of vagrants and mendicants establish
Labour Houses and Colonies for the detention of these offenders.
Between 1793 and 1891 the Vagrancy Laws went through a
process of progressive severity. But on the 27th of November,
1891, the existing law was so amended as to take away from
these offences their penal character. At the present time the
beggar, the tramp, and the loafer are dealt with under this law.
The great difference between the original Belgian Labour Houses
and the Beggars' Depots of today lies in the fact that the earlier
institutions were managed by philanthropic agencies, while those
existing today are State establishments, and form a part of the
judicial system of the country.

The Belgian law makes it obligatory upon the State to
establish three different types of correctional institutions for the
vagrants and mendicants, viz., Beggars' Depots, Houses of Re-
fuge and Reformatory Schools. The Beggars' Depots are for
able bodied vagrants and professional beggars, and for those
who, due to idleness, drunkenness or immorality, live in a state
of vagrancy. They can be sentenced to detention in these
Depots for a period ranging between two years and seven years.
The Houses of Refuge and Reformatory Schools are for simple
detention. In order to give the loafer a chance of voluntary
reformation, he is on the first conviction sent to a House of
Refuge by way of probation for a period not exceeding one year
or until he has earned 12s. If reconvicted he is sent to the Beg-
gars' Depot. In general the House of Refuge is intended for
vagrants, mendicants, loafers and dissolute persons who deserve
lighter punishment than that given to incorrigible offenders.
Article 2, para 3 of the said Act lays down that :
" The Reformatory Schools shall be devoted to persons
who are under eighteen years of age and who have been
placed by the judicial authority at the disposal of the Gov-
ernment or whose admission has been applied for by the
authority of the commune."

The Act provides that the Minister of Justice may order
the immediate discharge of any person confined in the Beg-
gars' Depots whose further confinement may appear to him
168,

LEGISLATION RELATING TO BEGGARY

unnecessary. Provision is made not only for the separate lodg-
ing of those below 21 in the Depots but also for the externment
of adult and able-bodied beggars not belonging to Belgium.

These few instances of the nature and progress of law relat-
ing to vagrancy in Europe go to show that their problem is
essentially the same everywhere. They prove beyond doubt
that short of penal measures the beggar problem is impossible
of solution. They make clear the futility of private efforts to
get rid of the beggar. The experience of the West also indi-
cates the desirability of organising charity for the good of the
community, aided or regulated by State legislation.

Laws in India Applicable to Vagrancy. Organised public
opinion in India has expressed itself in favour of State action
against begging since the beginning of the century. The Bom-
bay Corporation has shown interest in the problem since 1915.
The Calcutta Corporation has been vocal on the subject since
about 1918. Apart from the Corporations, public bodies like
the Women's Associations, Social Service Leagues and various
other agencies have been advocating State action.

In India, though there is no full fledged Vagrancy Act as
yet, it cannot be said that there is no legal provision for pre-
venting public begging. Before we discuss the recent Bills and
Acts, we shall consider the available local Acts and regulations
which, we are told, could be used for checking public begging.
To begin with, there is the Criminal Procedure Code which ap-
plies to the whole of British India and it is maintained that
Section 109 could be used to arrest a beggar. According to
this Section, if a Magistrate is satisfied

(a) " that any person is taking precautions to conceal his
presence within the local limits of each Magistrate's jurisdiction
and that there is reason to believe that such person is taking
such precautions with a view to committing any offence, or

(b) u that there is within such limits a person who has no
ostensible means of subsistence, or who cannot give a satisfactory
account of himself," that person may be arrested.

Though a vagrant might have been arrested now and again
under this section, it has been applied till now only for rounding

169

OUR BEGGAR PROBLEM

up * bad characters.' It does not really cover the beggar. B. B.
Mitra in his edition of the Code of Criminal Procedure (pp. 169)
quoting a judgment,' 1 shows that "merely to be out of work or
penniless is not an offence. Many an honest man may find
himself in either predicament, and in a country where there are
workless people and no workhouses, persons ought not to be
exposed to proceedings under Section 109 (b) merely because
they cannot give a satisfactory account of the manner in which
they are eking out a precarious existence." Further, till beg-
ging is legally forbidden begging itself could be stated to be
his * ostensible means of living.' Hence the Section cannot
be of much use in prosecuting a beggar.

The European Vagrancy Act.- - Then there is the European
Vagrancy Act, 1874, which applies to the whole of India but
takes care only of the European vagrant. According to Section
S of this Act,

" Vagrant " means a person of European extraction found
asking for alms or wandering about without any employ-
ment or visible means of subsistence."
whereas Section 23 lays down that

" Any person of European extraction found asking for aims
when he has sufficient means of subsistence, or asking for
alms in a threatening or insolent manner, or continuing
to ask for alms of any person after he -has been required
to desist, shall be punishable whether he be or be not a
European British subject, on conviction before a Magis-
trate, with rigorous imprisonment for a term not exceeding
one month for the first offence, two months for the second
and three months for any subsequent offence."
A ' vagrant,' according to the Act, may be sent to a work-
house or removed from British India at Government expense,
whereas a beggar, as defined by Section 28, can be given rigo-
rous imprisonment from one to three months. Just * asking
for alms' is vagrancy, and asking for alms in a particular man-
ner and in certain circumstances amounts to begging. It is
strange that this Act does not make any mention of the juvenile

1 Victor v. K. B. 68 Cal. 345, 30 C- W. N. 880, 27 Cr. L. J. 497.

170

LEGISLATION RELATING TO BEGGARY

vagrant. In the absence of a specific provision for dealing with
him, it may be presumed that he will be treated in the same
manner as the adult. Further, this Act neither recognises the
possibility of a European vagrant being disabled or suffering
from any infectious disease nor provides specifically for women
vagrants. When a European vagrant is arrested every effort
is required to be made by Magistrates and the Police to find a
suitable employment for hirn. In the meanwhile he is placed
in a Government workhouse. If within a reasonable period of
time no job is found for him, he is removed from India at Gov-
ernment expense.

The Lepers Act. We may now turn our attention to the
Lepers Act. The number of leper beggars in India is very large.
If only the Lepers Act of 1898 had been applied effectively the
problem would have been well on the way to solution by now.
It is an Act of the Central Government, with liberty to the
Provincial Governments to bring it into force if and when they
desired. Unfortunately, no Provincial Government has taken
full advantage of the Act for controlling lepers in its area. The
Act takes special notice of the ' pauper leper ' whom it defines
as " a leper who publicly solicits alms or exposes or exhibits
any sores or wounds or bodily ailment or deformity with the
object of exciting charity or of obtaining alms, or who is at large
without any ostensible means of subsistence." Such a person
can be arrested by any police officer without a warrant ; after
the Inspector of Lepers certifies him to be a leper, he is to be
produced before a Magistrate who can send him to a leper asy-
lum to be detained until discharged by order of the Board or
the District Magistrate.

Section 9 of the Act merits quotation, for we consider it a
very important preventive measure against the spread of the
disease. It reads thus :

44 The Local Government may, by notification, in the Offi-
cial Gazette, order that no leper shall, within any area
specified under section 3,

(a) personally prepare for sale or sell any article of food

171

OUR BEGGAR PROBLEM

or drink or any drugs or clothing intended for human
use; or

(b) bathe, wash clothes or take water from any public well
or tank debarred by any municipal or local bye-law
from use by lepers; or

(d) exercise any trade or calling which may by such noti-
fications be prohibited to lepers."

Penalty for disobeying this Section of the Act is fine upto
Rs. 20/-. Any one who knowingly employs a leper in any of the
trades mentioned in Section 9, shall be punishable with fine
which may extend to Rs. 50/-. Thus this Act makes provision
not only for punishing the leper who spreads the disease but
also those who permit a leper to do so.

The C. P. Municipalities Act. In addition to the above,
there are some Sections of the Municipalities Act in each Pro-
vince which deal with the beggar. It has been suggested that
action could be taken under these Sections. In certain cities
the Police Acts provide sections which are similar to the rele-
vant sections in the Municipalities Act. Section 206 of the
the C. P. Municipalities Act, 1922, runs as follows :~

" Whoever, in any street or public place within the limits
of a Municipality, begs importunately for alms or exposes
or exhibits, with the object of exciting charity, any defor-
mity or disease, or any offenvsie sore or wound, shall be
punishable with fine which may extend to twenty rupees."
This Section is the most unhelpful among similar provisions
in other cities and provinces. When a beggar is found to be
begging importunately, a police officer will have to get a warrant
of arrest, and then, when produced before the Court, the Magis-
trate can sentence him to a fine which may extend to twenty
rupees. * Importunate ' begging is very hard to prove ; by
the time a warrent is brought to arrest the beggar, he will not
be there to receive it ; even if one succeeded in getting him
before the Court, the punishment provided is neither deterrent
nor corrective. The C. P. Government is therefore considering
172

LEGISLATION RELATING TO BEGGARY

a Bill to amend this Section. The Bill contains proposals for
making begging a cognisable offence. But it has retained the
word ' importunate ' in its first draft and representations are
being made by the Society for the Elimination of Beggary in
Nagpur to delete the word. Fine or/and imprisonment of either
description or detention in a Poor House is prescribed. There
is no provision, however to punish those who encourage beg-
ging or those who employ children to beg. The power of pro-
secution is vested in the police and there is a suggestion that
the Magistrates (as on the lines of Section 190 C. P. C.) as well
as Municipal employees of certain rank (as in the U. P. Amend-
ment Act) be empowered to take cognizance of the offence.

The Punjab Municipal Act. Among the provisions to con-
trol beggary, the Punjab Municipal Act, 1911, Section 151, as
it stands at present is reasonably satisfactory. The relevant
portions are given below :

44 151. (1) Whoever, in any street or public place within
the Municipality, begs (importunately) for alms, or exposes
or exhibits, with the object of exciting charity, any defor-
mity or disease, or any offensive sore or wound, shall be
punishable with imprisonment of either description, which
may extend to three mpnths, or with fine not exceeding
fifty rupees, or with both, provided that
(a) In the case of a first offence, the court may, if it think
fit, instead of sentencing the convict to any punish-
ment, release him after due admonition ;
(b) in any case, the court may, if it is satisfied of the ina-
bility of the convict to earn a livelihood, owing to phy-
sical infirmity or debility, and if the person in charge
of any Poor House in the Municipality certifies that
he is willing to receive him, direct that the convict
be received into such Poor House, after being released
on entering into a bond, with or without sureties, to
appear and receive sentence, when called upon during
such period not exceeding three years, as the court
may direct.
(2) Notwithstanding anything contained in the Code of

173

OUR BEGGAR PROBLEM

Criminal Procedure, 1898, an offence punishable under
this section shall be cognizable ; and notwithstanding any-
thing contained in this Act, a court may take cognizance
of such an offence in the manner provided by Section 190,
C. P. C. 1898."

Much of the effect of this Section is lost by the qualifying
word * importunately.' Apart from the fact that it provides
for imprisonment which may extend to three months and/or
a fine not exceeding fifty rupees, it provides for admonition and
release for the first offence. As per Section 151, (1) (b) the
court does not sentence him to detention in a Poor House. But
in case a Poor House is willing to take him in, the court permits
his entry there after having signed a bond for good behaviour
for a period not exceeding three years. This method of tackl-
ing the beggar is not to be found in any of the other relevant
Sections. Though this provision could be used to check beg-
ging in the Punjab no attempt is, however, being made in that
direction.

The Bombay City Police Act. Turning now to other pro-
vinces, we find that Section 121 of the Bombay City Police Act,
Section 64 of the Bangalore Police Law and the Bangalore Muni-
cipal Bye-law N. 21, Section 13-A, are very similar. They both
penalise not only importunate begging but all begging; they
penalise not merely those who beg but also those who direct
begging or employ children under their control to beg ; they
provide for imprisonment which may extend to one month as
an alternative to, or in addition to, a fine not exceeding fifty
rupees. It can be clearly seen that these Municipal provisions
and the Police Acts are such that they could be made use of to
prevent begging if amended in certain respects. It is equally
true that unless We pass a complete Vagrancy Act the problem
will not be solved. But to make a beginning, some Provinces
have amended their legal provisions and in others amendments
are under consideration.

The Madras City Police Act. 1888. This Act was amended
by the Madras Government (by the Governor while acting under
Section 93 of the Government of India Act, 1985) on the 18th

174

LEGISLATION RELATING TO BEGGARY

May, 1941. Any Police Officer may arrest a beggar found beg-
ging, without a warrant, and the court may sentence the beg-
gar to imprisonment which may extend to one month or/and
fine him not exceeding fifty rupees, or in case there is a Work-
house he may be sentenced to detention there for a period not
exceeding three years. If the accused is below 16 years of age,
he shall be tried by the Juvenile Court. The Act provides for
Workhouses for the detention of the able-bodied and * special
homes' for the detention of those who are ' not physically ca-
pable of manual labour.'

The existence of the Madras Children Act, 1920, is fully
recognized by the framers of this amendment to the Police Act.
The ordinary courts are not allowed to try juveniles below 16
years. It is now the function of the Juvenile Court. Since
a difference is made between children who are below 14 and
those who are between 14 and 16, the punishment it gives
to the latter group is practically the same as that given to the
adult beggar, that is, they may be sentenced to Workhouse
and special homes. But,

71-K (2). " If the Juvenile Court finds on enquiry that
any person brought before it under sub-section (1) has
not attained the age of 14 years and is guilty of an offence
under Section 71 -A and that he : (a) has no home or
settled place of abode or visible means of subsistence, or
has no parent or guardian, or has a parent or guardian
who does not exercise proper guardianship, or (b) is desti-
tute and both his parents or his surviving parent or in the
case of an illegitimate child, his mother, are or is under-
going transportation or imprisonment, or (c) is under
the care of a parent or guardian who by reason of criminal
or drunken habits is unfit to have such care, the Court
may pass such order in respect of the offender as it could
have passed if he had been brought before it under sub-sec-
tion (1) of Section 29 of the Madras Children Act, 1920."
The main defect of the Act seems to lie in the fact thai
Section 71-C makes it clear that the operative sections of this
amendment will come into force only after Workhouses and

OUR BEGGAR PROBLEM

special homes have come into existence. It is probably because
of this that, though Madras happens to be the first in India to
take steps to provide adequate legal powers to check beggary,
it is not the first to start the experiment.

The V. P. Municipalities Act. In the United Provinces
it was found that Section 248 of the Municipalities Act, 1916,
if amended, would enable the immediate tackling of street beg-
ging in U. P. Public enthusiasm on this matter was aroused
by the efforts of the Social Service League. Realising that
social legislation in this country can be enacted only by organis-
ing public opinion, the Social Service League, after starting a
Poor House and finding that beggars will not voluntarily seek
admission, sought the aid of legislation. In the absence of a
responsible legislature, it was found that it was easier to get
the existing legislation amended than to get a full-fledged Vag-
rancy Act, however desirable it may be, passed by a legislative
body. Thus the movement for amending the Act began. Sec-
tion 248 of the U. P. Municipalities Act made importunate
begging punishable with fine which may extend to twenty rupees.
The U. P. Municipalities (Amendment) Act, 1942, was Gazetted
on the llth April, 1942.

According to this Amendment importunate begging is
made a cognizable offence. The court may sentence the ac-
cused to imprisonment which may extend to one month or to
a fine not exceeding fifty rupees or both ; or in places where
the Municipality has recognised a Poor House, the court may
sentence him to detention to a maximum period of two years.
The Rules clearly recognise the existence of various types of
beggars each of which requires specialised treatment. Rule 4
provides that :

" A Poor House shall have one or more of the following
main sections : (a) Infirmary for the decrepit, disabled
and diseased, suffering from non-infectious and non-conta-
gious diseases, (b) Section for beggars suffering from in-
fectious and contagious diseases, (c) Juvenile Section,
(d) Workhouse or Agricultural Colony for the able-bodied.
In each section separate arrangement shall be made for

176

Beggars' Colony

Here they live Disease ana iseggars

Give and be blessed: refuse and be cursed

LEGISLATION RELATING TO BEGGARY

each sex. More sections may be opened as necessary."

Though this Act does not specifically mention 6 admoni-
tion ' for the first offence, it is observed that in practice the
Magistrate does release persons after admonition if they are
first offenders, and whenever he considers such action to be
more effective than detention in a Poor House.

An important feature of this Act is the acceptance of the
principle of Indeterminate Sentence. A Revision Board, con-
sisting of the District Magistrate, Municipal Chairman and a
representative of the Poor House, is empowered to revise the
sentence of the trying Magistrate. After his admission to the
Poor Houf.e, if it is satisfied that " a beggar has developed the
will to work or has found means of livelihood other than beg-
ging and in general there are circumstances justifying a revi-
sion of his sentence it shall reduce the sentence or direct hi&
release." It will be noticed that a similar provision is made
in the Belgian Law of 1891, where the Minister of Justice is
empowered to revise the sentence. In Germany the maximum
period of detention permitted in a Labour House is two years,,
but it depends entirely on the vagrant himself to effect an ear-
lier release by reforming his ways. The President or Prefect
of District has the right to increase or reduce the sentence, but
in practice the Director of the Labour House is the person who
does it, for he can either recommend the reduction or enhance-
ment of the sentence. But at the end of two years the accused
must be released whether reformed or not.

The U. P. Municipalities Amendment Act is being enforced
at present in Lucknow. No beggar has till now been sentenced
to either imprisonment or fine but about 40 of them have been
sentenced to detention for periods varying between six months
and a year in the Lucknow Poor House, run by the Social
Service League and recognised by the Lucknow Municipality.

Even cities which have no Poor Houses can enforce the
Act and the courts could fine the offenders or send them to prison*
Our experience at Lucknow convinces us of the fact that they
need not wait till a Poor House is set up, but that if they arrested
beggars and sentenced some to prison and released others after

17T

OUR BEGGAE PROBLEM

admonition, a large number of those who do not need to beg
for a living, will give up begging, and the rest will cease to be
importunate. By the time a Poor House is founded, this pre-
liminary effort could well pave the way for the initiation of a more
complete programme of control.

One of the serious defects of this Amendment Act is that
the word * importunately ' still remains. In order to make
effective use of this Amendment this qualifying word must be
removed. All begging and not only importunate begging must
be made an offence. It is not easy to define or prove importunate
begging.

I have found by experience that the Magistrate is willing
to convict the person only if he was arrested when he was " actually
begging". He interprets begging as vocally making appeals to
people for help. But in actual practice the spirit and the purpose
of such a Vagrancy Act would indicate that a beggar may be
arrested when the prosecutor is satisfied that a person is a
beggar. The Bengal Vagrancy Bill solves this difficulty
by describing a beggar as one " asking for alms, wandering
or remaining in a manner indicating existence by begging."
A blind boy sits on the road side, silently, expecting
alms from the public, a blind man squats on a bridge with his
" Angauchha" spread out in his hands, silently asking the public
to throw in coins into the outstretched cloth ; a dumb beggar
with his hands spread out walks slowly and silently through the
Bazar ; an able-bodied beggar, a few lepers and an old woman,
all sit in a line near a temple expecting alms. In the opinion of
a Magistrate these persons cannot be strictly convicted under
the existing law. I do not think we need imagine that a person
is begging only when he shouts for it. It is beyond doubt that
every one of the persons mentioned above are professional beggars.
A clever plea put forward by some beggars in Court is " I do not
ask anybody for alms. If someone gives it to me, I take it."
The U. P. Amendment Act must be so amended again as to include
the types described above. The purpose of Vagrancy Legislation
must be to prevent begging in all forms and not to afford loop

178

LEGISLATION RELATING TO BEGGARY

holes to clever beggars to escape through or for unimaginative
Magistrates and Police to do hair-splitting.

In Lucknow it was found that according to the Act beggars
were sent for detention in the Poor House for periods varying
between 6 to 18 months. At the end of the period sentenced
for, we must release a person whether he has found means of
subsistence or not. This defeats the purpose of the Act. It
would appear the U. P. Amendment Act should be amended in
this respect on the lines of the Bengal Vagrancy (Ordinance)
Act. No maximum period of detention should be fixed. A
person must be released by the Revision Board only when they
are guarantied of the means of subsistence. Otherwise after
a brief sojourn in the Poor House they will again take to begging,
probably in another city.

Sind Vagrancy Bill. On the 12th April, 1939, Mr. P. A.
Bhopatkar introduced in the Sind Assembly " The Sind Vagrancy
Bill," ' a bill to prohibit able-bodied vagrants from begging
publicly on the streets '. The Bill defines a * vagrant ' as a
" person found wandering about and begging for alms ", but
it deals only with the able-bodied beggar. Any police officer
may arrest an able-bodied beggar, and the court can order his
imprisonment for a period not .exceeding one month for the first
offence, not exceeding two months for the second offence and not
exceeding one year for subsequent offences. If the accused
says that he is likely to obtain employment in a given place, the
court may order the police to conduct him to such a place. If
he fails to get employed within 24 hours, he shall be brought back
to the court which may punish him as mentioned above.

This Bill is very defective. The definition of * vagrant '
is inadequate. It makes no provision for Work-houses.
Even if the Bill dealt with the able-bodied beggars only,
there is no reason why it should not provide for industrial
and agricultural colonies for their retraining. Experience of
the vagrant in Europe shows that imprisonment is no solution
for the able-bodied beggar. He must be sent to specialised
Workhouses where the beggar, without the disadvantage of being
dubbed a * criminal ', can be cured of his constitutional laziness.

179

OUE BEGGAR PROBLEM

The provision to allow him to seek for employment is very de-
sirable. But, while the European vagrant gets fifteen days to
seek work and also while the Act requires that the Presidency
Magistrate or a First Class Magistrate shall assist the vagrant to
the best of his ability in securing employment, the Sind Vagrancy
Bill permits only 24 hours to find work and that too without the
help of the Magistrate. Thus it will be seen that the Bill in
its present form will serve little or no useful purpose.

Calcutta Suburban Police Act. A comprehensive Vagrancy
Bill is before the Bengal Assembly. It has been recently in-
troduced in the Assembly as a Government Bill. But even before
the Bill becomes Act, it is possible to arrest beggars under Clause
17 of Section 40 of the Calcutta Suburban Police Act, 1866.
This Section empowers the police to arrest any beggar and sent-
ence him to a fine not exceeding fifty rupees or imprison him in
lieu of fine. The Provincial Government may declare any institu-
tion to serve as a Refuge Home for the reception of the aged,
infirm or incurably diseased persons. In places where there is
such a recognised Institution the court may sentence the beggar
to detention for the period prescribed. Though no provision is
made for any other special home or Workhouse for the different
types of beggars, it is, as it stands, more satisfactory than the
C. P, Municipalities Act, 1922, and the proposed Sind Vagrancy
Bill.

Bengal Urban Poor Relief Bill In India Poor Law doe&
not exist in a codified form as in the West. Therefore, the
Bengal Urban Poor Relief Bill, 1940, must be considered an im-
portant step towards social legislation in our country. It is
a Bill "to provide for relief of the poor in the Urban areas of
Bengal ". Within six months of this Act coming into force
every Municipality in Bengal will have to prepare (a) a list showing
names of all disabled persons suffering from leprosy or any other
contagious disease, who have to rely on public charity for sub-
sistence and have no other source of income or none else to support
them ; and (b) a list of other disabled persons including old and
infirm persons and children below 12 who have to rely on public
charity for their subsistence. It is made obligatory upon every

180

LEGISLATION RELATING TO BEGGARY

Municipality to segregate and maintain, if possible, all indigents
in list (a). As for those in list (b) each Municipality is required
to try and provide funds for their maintenance and, " until
sufficient funds are provided for, shall take such steps as are
necessary for guarding against starvation of such indigents
including raising of voluntary contributions from members of
the public, government or charitable institutions."

Most of the beggar problems in India would be solved if
only such Poor Relief Measures were adopted. We would watch
with keen interest Bengal's experiment in this important piece
of legislation.

Bengal Vagrancy Bill. Poor Relief does not, however,
eliminate the need of a Vagrancy Act, and therefore Bengal
has moved in the direction of a Bengal Vagrancy Bill. 1
Any person found asking for alms, or remaining or
wandering about in any public place making it clear that he
exists on public charity can be arrested by any police
officer and taken before a Special Magistrate. If the Magistrate
is so convinced, the person in custody may be certified as a vagrant
and sent by the court to a Receiving Centre when a Medical
Officer will examine him thoroughly and submit his report to the
Officer-in-charge of the Centre who, under orders of the Vagrancy
Controller, may send him over to a Vagrant Home. He will
remain there till such time as the Controller may decide upon.
The Vagrancy Controller in this Bill functions very much like
the Revision Board in the U. P. Municipalities Amendment Act,
1942, and the Minister of Justice in Belgium.

It is wisely provided in the Bill that (a) lepers, (b) the insane
or mentally deficient, (c) those suffering from communicable
diseases other than leprosy, and (d) children, that is, persons
under the age of fourteen, be segregated from each other and from
vagrants who do not belong to any of the aforementioned classes.
Moreover, it requires the segregation of the male from the female
vagrants. It is also provided that such vagrants' homes may
include provision for the teaching of agricultural, industrial or

1. Since this chapter was written, the Bengal Legislature passed the Bill and is now
known as the Bengal Vagrancy Act, 1948. Ed.

181

OUR BEGGAR PROBLEM

other pursuits, and for the general education and medical care
of the inmates.

Much like the Continental Vagrancy Acts and the proposed
Cochin Vagrancy Bill, this Bill also provides for the repatriation
of non-Bengal beggars. It also punishes the person who '* em-
ploys or causes any person to ask for alms, or abets the employ-
ment or the causing of a person to ask for alms, or whoever having
the custody, charge or care of a child, connives at or encourages
the employment or the causing of the child to ask for alms
with rigorous imprisonment for a term which may extend to
two years, or with fine or with both. Its chief feature is that the
court does not sentence the beggar to a fixed period of detention
in a Vagrants' Home, but leaves it to the Controller to release
him when he considers that the purpose of the Act so far as the
particular individual is concerned is fulfilled. This provision is
a great improvement over the usual provision where a beggar
has to be released after the expiry of his term of detention,
whether reformed or not. It is reported that the Bengal Govern-
ment has arranged for the building of six vagrants' homes. A
Vagrancy Controller and six Managers for the Homes have already
been appointed.

It is encouraging to note that some Indian States are also
taking an active interest in the beggar problem. Hyderabad
has already passed the Prevention of Beggary Act, 1942. Simi-
larly, Mr. M. K. Devassy introduced the Cochin Vagrancy Bill
in the Cochin Legislature on the 10th February, 1940, but, un-
fortunately, it was not accepted. Baroda has now constituted
a committee to investigate the beggar problem and make pro-
posals for its control and prevention. Though Travancore has
no legislation dealing with vagrancy, a Beggar Relief Centre
has been started in Kottayam at the initiation of the municipality
and the citizens of the town. The Government of Mysore appoint-
ed a committee to go thoroughly into the question of beggary
in the whole State and to formulate a plan for effectively dealing
with the problem. The committee has just issued its Report
and also the Draft Bill for the Prohibition of Beggary in Mysore.
Hyderabad Prevention of Beggary Act. Unfortunately the

182

LEGISLATION RELATING TO BEGGARY

Hyderabad Act has several defects. It seems to be so framed
as to make it almost impossible to admit a person to a Poor
House. Powers of establishment, recognition and supervision
of institutions for beggars are vested in a chief committee, which
may be either the Standing Committee of the Hyderabad Munici-
pal Corporation for the City of Hyderabad, or a Sub-Committee
of five nominated by the Municipal Committee or the Local
Board concerned.

Further, Sec. 7 (1) says that "The Chief Committee may

establish institutions in suitable places or close down

any institution established by the public." We cannot appre-
ciate this id^a of empowering the Committee to close down any
public institution started for the benefit of beggars or poor
people. It is expected, however, that the extreme step of closing
down an institution would be taken only when strong reasons
justify the adoption of such a measure.

Institutions, started or recognised or aided by the Chief
Committee, can secure inmates in two ways : firstly, they may
accept those who voluntarily seek admission. But every such
person must execute an agreement with the institution to remain
in it for not less than two years. Thereafter he shall be subject
to the same rules as apply to., those who are committed to the
institution by the court. Secondly, they may admit those whom
the courts have sentenced to detention. Experience both in
India and abroad makes it clear that voluntary admissions to
a Poor House are negligible. When such admission amounts to
voluntarily giving up of one's right to freedom, it is difficult to
see how any institution may be expected to get volunteer inmates.

Admissions through the courts seem to us still more difficult.
Sec. 16 provides that when a police officer sees a professional
beggar begging, he should first ask him to refrain from begging
and leave the place; and if this order is not complied with then
the police officer is to arrest him after holding a panchnama. It
is obvious that no beggar will ever contravene such a convenient
order of a policeman. To ask a beggar not to beg at a given
time and at a given place does not need a police officer. The
beggar will obey any ordinary citizen. Granting that one finds

isa

OUR BEGGAR PROBLEM

fcuch a rare type of a beggar who insists on begging when ordered
by the police officer to go away from there, the law requires the
police officer to hold a panchnama and then arrest the beggar.
Our experience of arresting beggars in Lucknow makes it clear
to us that it is almost impossible to find persons who will agree
to form the panch ; it will be still more difficult for the policeman
to get such a panchnama to witness against a beggar. In our
round-ups of beggars in Lucknow, whenever a beggar created
a scene on his arrest, the public inevitably pleaded for his release.

Presuming for a moment that it is possible to find a police
officer who will be so conscientious as to go through this difficult
process of arresting the beggar, and granting that it is possible
to find men willing to form the panch, it is difficult for the beggar
to get across the court even if he is anxious to enter an institution.
For the first offence the court may discharge a beggar if he pro-
mises not to beg again, and no beggar, as far as our knowledge
goes, will refuse to give such an undertaking. If a beggar comes
before the court for a second time " he shall not be discharged
unless a respectable person stands surety for him that he will
not be guilty of begging by profession, or unless the court is
satisfied in some other way that he will refrain from it."

In case a beggar appears for the third time then the court
may sentence him to detention in an institution, under the
control or management of the Chief Committee, " for such period
as is deemed sufficient to render him capable of earning a living
for his necessaries/' The Act does not mention the maximum
period to which the court may sentence him. We may get a
fuller idea if we see the Rules governing this Act. But it is not
advisable to let the Rules prescribe such an important matter
which involves a principle.

Dealing with persons who abscond from the institutions,
Section 18 says that if such an escaped person is found by a police
officer he may arrest him after holding panchnama. It is super-
fluous and unreasonable to require the certificate of a paneh for
the arrest of a person who is definitely wanted by law. Whether
he is found begging or not, he is to be arrested if he has escaped
from legal custody.

184

LEGISLATION RELATING TO BEGGARY

The Act does not reveal any clear idea of the need of specia-
lised treatment for the various types of beggars. Throughout
the term " professional beggar " is used. In the Definitions
Clause the term is so denned that no clear cut differentiation is
made between a beggar and a professional beggar. The Act
makes provision neither for the punishment of those who encourage
^beggary, nor for the repatriation of those who are non-State
^beggars. Further, it gives no special consideration to the child
beggar. The purpose of the Act evidently is prevention and not
treatment.

Cochin Vagrancy Bill. Now turning to the Cochin Vagrancy
Bill we find that one of its most interesting features is its definition
of the vagrant. Section 3(ii) says :

" Vagrant means (a) any person wandering abroad or
placing himself in any public place to beg or gather alms or
causing or encouraging or procuring any child to do so ;
(b) any person wandering abroad to hawk goods without
a pedlar's license; (c)any person whose wilful neglect to work
causes him or her or any of his or her family to go about
begging ; (d) any person running away, causing his child
or wife to live upon charity ; (d) any person endeavouring '
to procure alms by exposing deformities or by making
fraudulent pretences ; (f) any person found in a building or
inside an enclosed yard or garden, for any immoral, unlawful
purpose ; (g) any person gaming, in an open and public place,
at some game of chance with cards, coins and other instru-
ments ; (h) any person telling fortunes or using any subtle
craft, palmistry or otherwise, to deceive ; (i) any person
wandering abroad, without visible means of subsistence,
and lodging in unoccupied buildings, or under a tree or tent
or in a cart, and not giving a good account of himself;
(j) any person knowingly living, wholly or in part, on the
earnings of prostitution, or persistently soliciting in public
for immoral purposes."

According to this definition a beggar, a person encouraging
a child to beg, an unlicenced hawker, a deserter, a gambler,
a palmist, a prostitute and a pimp all are " vagrants " and

185

OUR BEGGAR PROBLEM

can be taken action against under this Act. Sub-section (f) of
this definition makes it possible for a respectable political worker
to be termed a vagrant if at a given time a political party or
association of which he is a member is declared illegal and he
is found working for such party in a building or in an enclosed
yard or garden. It is difficult also to understand how an unlicens-
ed hawker and a palmist can be considered as vagrants. Apart
from this too wide a definition of a vagrant, the Bill in general
is a very desirable one. All begging is made a cognizable offence.
The Governm. nt is required to establish Receiving Centres and
Institutions for the accommodation and treatment of vagrants.
Due attention is paid to the different types of beggars. The
general procedure of arrest and conviction is on the same lines
as the jJengal Vagrancy Bill.

That professional organisations exist among beggars and
that some so-called respectable citizens employ beggars to beg
in public and take a part of their earnings in turn for food and
protection from the police have been pointed out elsewhere in
this book. It looks as if Sec. 18 (1) of the Cochin Vagrancy Bill
is meant to attack this system. It reads as follows :

" Whenever it shall appear to the Commissioner of
Police that any person is living on the earnings of vagrants
within the local areas to which this is made applicable, he
shall make a report to the Government with the recommenda-
tion that such person be deported out of Cochin."

The Government then may arrest him, and after a trial in
camera may deport him from Cochin for a specified period of
time. Such a provision is not found in any other Act either in
India or in the West. An ideal Vagrancy Act will do well to
include this provision. Another of its interesting features is
that a beggar, who is not a bonafide resident of Cochin, may be
repatriated from Cochin only after he had stayed for three months
in a Receiving Centre and had failed to find employment within
that period.

Those causing children to beg may be sentenced to im-
prisonment, with or without hard labour, for a term which may

186

LEGISLATION RELATING TO BEGGARY

extend to two years, or to a fine not exceeding 500 rupees, or
both. But unfortunately the Bill proposes to leave the question
of prescribing the maximum period of detention permitted in
any institution to the Rules. So important a matter should be
included in the Act itself, for it will then ensure the acceptance
of a general principle in regard to detention.

Mysore Draft Bill for the Prohibition of Beggary. This Bill
contains several interesting features. It provides for the creation
of a Central Relief Committee, the establishment of Receiving
Centres and institutions to meet the needs of different types of
beggars, classification of beggars, formation of colonies or social
settlements on the village community model where agriculture
and cottage industries will be taught, and the repatriation of
non-Mysorian beggars at Government cost.

Religious mendicant is included in the definition of ' beggar '
but a provision in the Bill excludes him from this category under
certain conditions. With reference to this, Section 2 (d) states :

**A person shall not be deemed to be a beggar if he(i) is a
religious mendicant licensed by the Central Relief Committee
to solicit alms in the manner prescribed by rules under this Act ;
or (ii) in performance of any religious vow or obligation as sanc-
tioned by custom or religion collects alms in a private or public
place, without being a nuisance ; or (iii) is permitted in writing
by the Central Relief Committee to collect alms from the public
for any public institution, whether religious or secular, or for the
furtherance of any object for the good of the public.

Thus religious mendicants may be permitted to beg under
a licence granted by the Central Relief Committee on the re-
commendation of the Head of the Religious Order to which they
belong provided they beg without causing nuisance to the public.
This is a novel provision not found in any other vagrancy legisla-
tion, and is meant for the purpose of regulating religious mendi-
cancy with due regard to the sentiments of the people. In
practice, it is hoped, it would do credit to the good intentions of
the framers of the law.

The Bill does not provide for Workhouses but for colonies
rf the village community type. The colony will take in only

1ST

OUR BEGGAR PROBLEM

the able-bodied, the aged, the juvenile, the lame, the cripple
and the blind. The Scheme includes a separate Sick Ward
for the treatment of the sick, a Correctional Ward for the unruly
and the " work-shy " and a Rescue Home for the profligate women.
It is interesting to note that there is also a suggestion for a colony
for the mentally defective and insane beggars to be attached to
the Mysore Government Mental Hospital.

Special attention is given to the child beggar. The provi-
sions of the Bill are as hereunder :

(1) If a person arrested under the provisions of this Act is,
in the opinion of the officer arresting him, below the age of twelve
years, he shall without delay be removed to the Receiving Centre,
whereupon the Officer-in-Charge of the Receiving Centre shall,
after preliminary enquiry, place him before the Magistrate and,
if the Magistrate after summary enquiry finds that he

(a) has no home or settled place or abode or means of sub-
sistence or, has no parent or guardian, or has a parent
or guardian who does not exercise a proper wardship ; or

(b) is a destitute and both his parents or his surviving parent,
or in the case of an illegitimate child, his mother, are
or is undergoing imprisonment ; or

(c) is under the care of a parent or guardian who by reason
of the criminal or drunken habits is unfit to exercise
such care ;

shall declare the person to be a beggar and send him to the Re-
ceiving Centre :

Provided that if such a person has a parent or a proper
guardian, the Magistrate shall call upon that parent or guardian
to execute a bond and stand surety for that person not committing
an act contrary to the provisions of Section 3 and thereafter
release him, but if that parent or guardian himself is a beggar,
and no other relative comes forward to take care of the person,
he shall be sent to the Receiving Centre with a declaration as
provided therein.

(2) If in the course of the enquiry, the Magistrate is of
opinion that the parent or guardian, being competent to maintain
the child, has wilfully neglected to do so, he may in his order

188

LEGISLATION RELATING TO BEGGARY

committing such child to the Receiving Centre direct that such
amount as he may deem necessary for the maintenance of the
child be recovered by way of fine from such person or guardian.

(3) The Officer-in-charge of the Receiving Centre shall
thereupon send the child to such Institution best suited for him.

It is suggested that a normal child beggar should not be
separated from its parent, that the beggar family should be lodged
in one hut in the Colony and that the foster-parent system may
be introduced in the Colony for Children without parents.

Another interesting feature is that the Bill provides for
Indoor and Outdoor Relief. The former is relief given in any
Institution under the Act and the latter is relief in cash or kind
or both. The latter provision is made to take care of those who
are real destitutes but are ashamed to beg and actually starve
rather than beg in the open street such cases can only be treated
by Outdoor Relief. This method, however, is to be adopted
only in the case of those deserving needy who do not need insti-
tutional care but outdoor help to prevent them from begging,
and that too, with the approval of Government.

To meet the expenses of the Scheme there is to be a Beggar
Relief Fund but it is not to be raised by taxation. Section 36
reads :

" In order to carry out the purposes of this Act, a fund called
the Central Relief Fund shall be formed. This Fund shall con-
sist of : (i) Subscriptions and donations ; (ii) Grants from
Government General ' Revenues, Muzrai or other sources; (iii)
Grants from Local Boards, such as District Boards, Municipalities
and Panchayets, and other private or public Institutions ; (iv)
Fines recoverd under this Act ; (v) Other sources, if any.

The supervision, direction and control of all matters relating
to the administration of relief over the whole State is vested,
according to this Bill, in the Central Relief Committee to be
constituted by Government.

Points for an Ideal Vagrancy Act. As India gains experience
by experimenting with these various Acts dealing with the
beggar, it should be possible to evolve an ideal Vagrancy Act
to be passed by the Central Government, and to be put into force

189

ESSENTIAL FEATURES OF LEGISLATION

Name of Law

Punishment

Offence : Cognizable or
Non-Cognizable ?

1. The Madras City Police
(Amendment) Act, 1941
(Amendment to
Act III of 1888).

Pine upto Rs. 50/- or imprison-)
ment upto one month or Workhouse
Madras upto 3 years.

2. The U. P. Act No. VIII
of 1942.

The U. P.

(Amendment) Act, 1942.
(Amendment to Sec. 248
of the U. P. Mun. Act.)

3. The Prevention of Beg-
gary Act, 1941 Hydera-
bad-Deccan.

4. The European Vagrancy
Act, 1874.

Fine upto Rs. 50/- or imprison-
ment upto one month or both or
Municipalities Poor House upto two years.

5. The Lepers Act 1898.

^. The Cochin Vagrancy
Bill.

7. The Bengal Vagrancy
Bill 1943.

Detention in an Institution for a
period sufficient to render him cap-
able of earning a living.

A "Vagrant * sent to Workhouse
till employment is found or till he is
removed from Br. India.

A "Beggar" R. I. for one month
for 1st offence and 3 months for sub-
sequent offences.

In Leper Asylum until discharged
ty the Board or the District Magis-
trate.

The Rules to prescribe period of
detention (See Sec. 18 (1) (G).)

To remain in Vagrant Home till
Hontroller finds work for him, or
relative or friend stands security.

8. The Sind Vagrancy Bill
1938. (Private Bill "
P. A. Bhopatkar).

9. The Bombay City Police
Act, Sec. 121.

10. The Bangalore Police
Law, Sec. 64.

11. The Punjab Mun. Act of
1911, Sec. 151.

Imprisonment upto 1 month for
by 1st offence, 3 months for 2nd offence,
1 year for subsequent offences.

Cognizable.

Legally it is cogni-
zable, but in practice it
s non-cognizable.

Cognizable.

Pauper leper may be
arrested without war-
ant.

Cognizable.
Cognizable.

Cognizable.

12. The C.P. Municipalities

Act, 1922, Sec. 206.

13. The Draft Bill for the
Prohibition of Beggary
in Mysore, 1943.

Imprisonment upto one month or
ine upto Rs. 50/- or both.

Imprisonment upto one month or
ftne upto Rs. 50/- or with both.

Fine upto Rs. 50/- or imprisonment
upto 3 months or both, or 1st offence
admonition.

Fine upto Rs. 20/-

Detention in the Colony for re-
training till the beggar is found
capable of earning his own liveli-
hood. Aim not penal but educative

Cognizable.

Non-Cognizable.
Cognizable.

IN INDIA RELATING TO BEGGARY

Nature of Offence

Punishment to
Abbettor

Prosecuting
Authority

Child
Age Limit

Externment

Begging or apply-

None.

Police Officer.

Below 16

None.

ing for alms.

years.

Begging importu-

None.

(1) Police (2) Such

Below 16

None.

nately.

Municipal employees

years.

as are authorised by

the Mun. Bd. In

Lucknow the Sani-

tary Inspectors.

Begging anywhere.

Any Officer, or

police official can

arrest after holding

a panchnama.

Asking for alms

Any Police Officer.

Extenrment at

when he has suffi-

Government cost

cient means of sub-

if he has no em-

sistence ; or in a

ployment.

threatening ma^iirr,

or importunately.

(See Sec. 23).

One who appears

He who employs

Any Police Officer

......

to be a pauper leper.

a leper in a trade
can be fined upto

Rs. 50/-.

Begging.

Any person liv-

Police Officer.

"A Minor'

' If work for able

ing on the earn-

1C years.

>odied non-Cochin

ings of vagrants

s not found with-

deported out of

n 3 months, he

Cochin.

may be repatriat-

ed.

Asking for alms,
wandering or remain-

R. I. upto 2
years or tine or

Any Police Officer
authorised by Com-

Under 14
years.

Non-Bengalis to
be repatriated.

ing in a manner in-

both.

missioner of Police

dicating existence

or the D. M.

by begging.

Wandering about

Any Police Officer.

and begging.

Begging or direct-

Imprison m e n t

Police Officer.

......

ing or permitting

upto 1 month or

children under his

fine upto Rs. 50/-

control to beg.

or both.

Begs or permits

Imprison m e n t

Police Officer.

children under his

upto one month

control to beg or to

or fine upto Rs.

apply for alms.

SO/- or both.

Begging importu-

Police Officer.

nately.

Begging importu-

......

nately.

Begging in Public
place, soliciting alms,
wandering from door
to door or exhibiting
sores etc., for secur-

Punished with
simple or rigorous
imprisonment for
a term which may
extend to 3

Police Officer and
others authorized
under the Bill.

Under the
age of 12
years; younj
boys anc
girls upto

N o n-Mysorian
beggars to be
repatriated a t
Government cost.

ing alms.

months or with

the age of

fine or both.

18 are also

Religious mendi-

placed un-

cant if he is a nuis-

der this

ance and not licensed

category.

by the Central Relief

Committee.

OUR BEGGAR PROBLEM!

by Provincial Governments if and when they decide to do so.

There are some important points which, in my opinion,
should be covered by a model legislation, and they are as follows :

(1) All begging, and not merely importunate begging, should
be made an offence.

(2) Begging should be made a cognizable offence.

(3) The power to take cognizance of public begging should
be vested in (a) the police, (b) the magistracy, and (c) such officers
as may be authorised by the Municipal Boards. We would also
suggest that certain members of public social organisations,
under certain conditions and rules, be authorised to arrest beggars.
(There is precedence for such a practice in the S. P. C. A.).

(4) Not only the person who begs, but also the one who
gives alms should be punished. None of the Indian Bills proposed
or Acts passed deal directly with the almsgiver. In 1899 the
Canton of Schwyz, in democratic Switzerland, passed a law-
making " persons who by giving alms, favour begging from house
to house or in the street " liable to a fine of ten francs. Similarly,
a police ordinance was issued some time ago in the Ulezen district
of Prussia to the effect that " giving of alms of any kind whatever
to mendicant vagrants is prohibited on pain of a fine not exceed-
ing nine marks." There is no reason why in India if begging is
forbidden giving of alms should not be prohibited.

(5) A model Act should pay, as some of our legal measures
do, special attention to the protection of the child beggar. Punish-
ment of those who cause children to beg must be one of its pro-
visions.

(6) Care should be taken to define clearly the different types
of beggars to be treated in special institutions. There is a ten-
dency to regard all beggars as requiring identical treatment.

The Bengal Vagrancy Bill, the U. P. Municipalities Amend-
ment Act, 1942, and the Mysore Draft Bill show a fairly clear
classification of beggars. Upon such classification will depend
to a large extent the programme of individualized treatment.
The Bombay Children's Act has taken care of delinquent children
as no other province in India has done and the Chembur Children's
Home is well worth following as a model for a home for destitute

192

TO BEC3GARY

and delinquent children. We do not mean to tfugg&st that the
Chembur Home is an example" of perfection, lf btit ^taking OUT Cue
from that Institution we can build better'

If the beggar problem is to be tackled isSute^sfiilly -we must
establish an ideal Workhouse for able-bodied beggars. Nowhere
in India does such an institution exist.

(7) As regards the leper beggars, instead of attempting to
tackle them under a Vagrancy Act, public opinion should in-
fluence Government to enforce the Lepers Atft'bf' 1898. Pauper
lepers can well be taken care of by that Act as there is an All-
India Leprosy Association with its branches in each province
and most districts. Wherever special agencies exist it will be
advisable for bodies interested in vagrancy not to cover the same
ground but co-operate with them. This is an accepted principle
in modern social work as it saves time, energy and expense, and,
further, promotes united effort by eliminating unwholesome
rivalry.

(8) Provision should be made for the externment of beggars
who do not belong to the plate where they are arrested.

(9) In regard to the establishment of institutions for various
types of beggars, we would suggest the following methods for
each Province. In every town and city of a province there should
be a Receiving Centre. In every Province there should be one
central Children's Home, a Labour Colony, a Leper Asylum and
a Leper Hospital, a Hospital for those suffering from infectious
diseases, all situated in one city, preferably the capital of the
Province. The Receiving Centre in each city will also function
as an Infirmary for the maintenance and care of the infirm*

We suggest this plan for we do not think , it. is ..financially
a feasible proposition to have a ring of all these . homes in each
city. Such organised province- wide solution, pf ( th,e, beggar pro-
blem is possible only if the Vagrancy Act prpyi^de^. for some such
measures in the Act itself. ,. f ..... , ,

(10) Considering the fact that among \$\v large population
of beggars in India a good many suffer frpni -hereditary defects
as are likely to be transmitted to tjheir childffent, it would b^

BEOOAR PKOBI.RM

desirable to jwwide for the sterilization of such persons under
tfee advice and guidance of expert medical men.

(11) Segregation of sexes is provided for in most of the Bills
proposed and Acts passed. While segregation of sexes is neces-
sary, no concern i* shown anywhere, except in the Mysore Draft
Bill, to the possibility of an entire family begging and being
.arrested. In case a husband and wife are arrested either together
<or separately, the Act should permit the provision of family
.quarters ia institutions meant for the beggars. If they have
children of tender age they may be allowed to stay with the
parents.

So fax as tfce Infirmary is concerned too much fuss need not
be made to keep the .sexes rigidly segregated. The old and the
infirm living together in their old age will remove some of the
boredom aatui&l to the life of a disciplined existence in an institu-
tion. We would like to see these homes for vagrants develop
on the lines of the Settlements for the * criminal tribes '.

(12) Much of the delay in coming to grips with the problem
in various places is due to the guestion of finance involved.
For years past a controversy has been going on between the
Government and the Municipality as to who should shoulder
the responsibility. In December 1938, an important discussion
took place at tlie Ail-India Local Self Government Conference
held at the Council Chamber of the Calcutta Corporation. Mr.
B. N. Roy Ctioudhry in introducing the subject said :

"The greatest difficulty of handling vagrancy in this
country arises from want of proper legislation in regard to
poor relief and it has been a, matter of controversy as to the
respective responsibility of the local authorities and the
Government in tegatd to poor relief. The Local authorities
want to shiftTthe burden on the shoulders of the Government
and vice ver&a. We are now almost unanimous that the
subject should be the joint concern of both the Government
and the local authorities."

The conferetice ^ftttafljr comclutied that the responsibility should
be joint, but tfiat the initiation of legislation, without which
beggary could f*6t ; be tackled, lay with the Government.

104

LJJXHSLAf ION RELATING TO BEGGARY

It is neither wise nor possible to depend upon prirAte ^na-
tions to run these institutions. Government must finance the
scheme and they must rAisfc the necessary funds by special taxa-
tion. The Gwalior Markets Act of 1986 (Samvat) prcWidteS for
the control and disbursal of Dharmaddya, a percentage of
iricome set apart by mfereli&Ms for charity. Such money is
available all over India. It is well known that hugfc ammiiits
are collected at most of the big and small temples and other
places of worship all ova* India. <5overntnent should take
courage in both hands and see that such money is spent fofr the
amelioration of human suffering. The Calcutta Rotary Club
suggested the increasing of trade licences by 12.5 per cent. The
Indian Chamber of Commeirce approved of this suggestion. Sonie
others suggest that taxes on motors, cycles, marriages, telephones
and public entertainments should all go to the tackling of the
beggar problem.

Suffice it to say that the Vagrancy Act must accept the
principle of levying fresh and specific taxes for the purpose of
enforcing the Act. That done each Province may dfccide Upoti
the nature of such taxation.

There is an interesting suggestion made in Art. 38 of the
Belgian Law of 1891 :

" The cost of relief given in execution of the present
law may be recovered from the persons relieved or from
those liable for their maintenance. It may also be recover-
ed from those who are responsible for the injury or illness
which necessitates the relief."

That a reasonable amount of responsibility should be laid upon
those who cause beggary to continue or who promote individual
beggary to come into existence is a sound theory and may be
put to test by the proposed Vagrancy Act in India.

(18) At present the maintenance of Poor Houses is a dise*6-
tionary function of the Municipality. Government should take
immediate steps to make it its obligatory function. We have
already seen that on the Continent it is the joint concern of the
CMfttfe afcd the Provinces.

(14) Thete is a tendency in the various Vafegraney Bills

OUR BEGGAR PROBLEM

to provide for short sentences for the vagrant. Experience
both in England and the Continent points towards the advisa-
bility of long sentences. The Departmental Committee on
Vagrancy of 1904 endorse the objections to short sentences which
have, been advanced times without number by critics of the Va-
grancy Laws, and advocate sentences of not less than six months
or more than three years ; but they maintain that there should
be power to curtail a sentence under certain conditions- No
useful purpose will be served by sending beggars to Workhouses
for a very short period. Therefore the Act may well lay down,
in certain cases, the minimum sentence to be given.

(15) Every Vagrancy Act has a provision for dealing with
escape and re-arrest. The suggestion in most cases is to en-
hance the punishment. While we do not object to such a pro-
vision in the Act, we are afraid, too much concern is shown over
the escape of inmates from Poor Houses. Escape of a beggar
should not be viewed in the same light as that of a convict from
jaiL If after his escape, he is not found begging and has taken
to some decent way of living, then the purpose of the Act and
the Poor House is already fulfilled. Therefore, there is no need
of enhancing his punishment. But if he is found begging again,
then there is every justification for drastic steps. Rightly does
the Departmental Committee on Vagrancy, 1904, observe :
" If a colonist escapes, and is able to support himself without
coming within the reach of the law, his escape from the colony

is no matter for regret if the detention is intended not so

much as a punishment, but rather as a means of restraining the
vagrant from his debased mode of life, the risk of his escaping
need not be regarded so seriously as in the case of a criminal
committed to prison to expiate his crime." Similarly, Mon-
sieur Stroobant, Oirector of the unique Beggars Depot of Merx-
plas in Belgium, has this interesting observation to make :

" Those who escape are the energetic men who, influe-
enced by some ruling idea it may be of a family in dis-
tress or other motives less laudable seek to reclass them-
selves. They are not always by any means the most corrupt,
and often when I learn that a fugitive is following regular

196

LEGISLATION RELATING TO BEGGARY

work, I ask the Minister of Justice to suspend the order
for his recapture. From the standpoint of the general
security of the establishment the facility to escape consti-
tutes a valuable safety valve, which it is expedient to re-
cognise. In truth the latent energies, which imepl a man
at all costs to seek emancipation from the bondage which
he has to endure in the Beggars' Depot, are exhausted by
flight".

A Vagrancy Act we do need. But there is danger in ex-
pecting too much from it. The object of such an Act must not
and cannot be to make perfect men out of most imperfect mate-
rial ; it will be the far more modest one of correcting tendencies
of character and conduct which are socially injurious, with a
view to returning the objects of care to freedom, if they seriously
wish to regain freedom, able, under favourable circumstances,
to take their legitimate place among the citizens of the country.
Only by setting before ourselves sane and moderate views shall
we be able to advance towards our goal ; to act otherwise will
be to waste effort and court certain disappointment.

197

A PLEA FOR SOCIAL SECURITY TO PREVENT
PAUPERISM*

While the Beveridge Plan and the American Social Security
Programme are engaging the attention of the world a daring
schemes undertaken by the State to provkie social* protection
for its citizens against want, little or nothing being done in
India to protect the wage-earners against the hazards of un-
employment, sickness, old age, and widowhood whtefi frequently
reduce them to abject poverty. Dr. Kumarappa therefore
makes a plea for a modest policy of Social Security Programme
to prevent the pauperization of individuals and families of
low income level as a part of OUT poet-war vecwastruetion
plan.

IN India poverty and pauperism did mt appear as social
problems until the disruption of the joint fMiiily system
and the removal of production from tifoe home to tike
factory. The modern methods of production feave resulted
in the accumulation of wealth and its eoncerrtratkm in the hands
of the few. Failure to give adequate attention to the social
arrangements involved has given rise to the aqppaUkng evils, of
industrialism to which workers the world qves? kwtve fatten vietwis.

* Since writing this (May 194), a Committee, known <M the labour Investigation
Committee, was appointed in February 1944, in pursuance of a iwseiutiofi of the Tripartite
Labour Conference held in September last year, to draw up * prejrrarnmc *f Social Security
for Labour in India. Its terms of reference are to investigate and report inter alia on the
risks which bring about insecurity, the needs of labour to meet such risks, the methods most
suitable for meeting such rinks, and housing and factory condition*.

OUR BEGGAR PROBLEM

It has also disintegrated our village economy, so much so, that
owing to unemployment and poverty thousands migrate from
rural areas to cities in search of employment making the situa-
tion in cities even worse. Modern industrialism then is one of
the major causes of poverty and suffering among the lower
classes. Industrial accidents, unemployment, disease and old
age force many of them to take to begging as a means of liveli-
hood.

In the preceding chapters various aspects of this problem of
beggary have been dealt with. We have also noticed that spe-
cial classes, such as the aged, widows, the crippled, the blind,
the feeble-minded, etc., need special care and treatment and
that organised relief indoor and outdoor must take the place
of indiscriminate charity. '* All remedies of poverty fall into
two classes the palliative and the curative the endeavour
to relieve poverty or the attempt to prevent poverty." 1 Modern
scientific method is to attack it both ways. While modern cha-
rity is based on tjie principle of prevention, it does not ignore
the immediate problem of providing relief for the poor, and the
needy in our midst. Since social security is a step towards the
mitigation of poverty, we make a plea for its introduction in
our country for the protection of the poor, believing that the
time is ripe for its favourable consideration.

We are painfully conscious of the rapid changes taking
place throughout the world. And we too have been drawn into
the maelstrom^ What the aspect of the world would be after
the war is beyond the pale of social prognostics. Yet one may
hazard the general statement that the old order is being swept
away, structure and spirit. In the melee of social adjustments
that must inevitably follow the present chaos, the new social
order must be formed and the nature of that new order will be
based on our experiences of, and reactions to, the present one.
It may be frankly admitted that nooncf will regret if the old struc-
ture, at the altar of which priests in the name of capitalism
sacrifice human blood and sweat, passes away. But it goes

*, 19p7,,p, 487.

200

SOCIAL SECURITY' TO PREVENT PAUPERISM

without saying that the present system of social living is
which makes parasitic exploitation thrive, renders sympathy
between man and man almost impossible, creates and kindles
hatred between members of different strata of society and denies
good living to the masses of mankind. Indeed, ignorance, po-
verty, humiliation, disease and death have been the lot of the
majority of men all over the world.

Why Social Security. This war has shown, as no oth^r war
in history, that victory can be the result only of the concentrated
efforts, physical and intellectual of all classes of men in a com-
munity. That is to say, war calls for sacrifices from all ele-
ments of society -from nobles, from workers, even from women,
whatever their share of happiness or misery in times of peace.
It is the one great lesson of the total war that all the elements
and individuals of the State are bound each to each for weal
or woe. The contributions of labour to the common weal are
now becoming emphatically manifest and call for a new deal
and status for labour. It is good that statesmen of all nations
have realised betimes that the post-war social planning should
ensure better social justice to all ranks in the State, better than
what they uptil now have enjoyed. It is to the securing of this
objective to the people of England that the now famous Beve-
ridge Plan sets itself; and the National Resources Planning Board
and the Social Security Board's 7th Annual Report now before
the Congress seek to answer a like necessity in the U. S. A.
But England and America and many countries of Europe have
already had some form of social security plans which have been
worked with more or less efficiency. The problem before those
countries is now to extend the benefits of social security already
existing so that all individuals in the State, men, women and
children, disabled and unemployed and all others requiring
State help can be brought within the purview of the plan.

But India has to begin from the beginning. She has no
experience of the social security programme, such as the West
has. But all the evil and hazards that are to be found in the
social life of the Western nations exist in our country also. Old
age dependence, maternity risks, unemployment hazards, sickness

201

OUR BKOOAB FROBUfcM

liabilities and such other wants said arises which lead to the
disintegration of the home and hum&n personalities, reduce a
nation's strength and affect its welfare are universal pro-
blems; and each country has them in a more or less intense
degree. Hence, it is no wonder if we too are obliged to face
the problem of social security in any post-war reconstruction
effort. Indeed, the planning of a new social order for India
should be based on the dual principles of elimination of poverty
among the masses, and insurance against all manner of risks
for all those citizens that can be possibly brought under the
scheme. Looked into closely the latter principle is only a
method of tackling the national problem of poverty while the
former is the objective to be achieved.

A plea for Social Security for India is not based on the psy-
chology of imitation, on the habit of doing what the other coun-
tries in the West are doing. Though it is but natural to be
stirred into similar ways of thinking and doing while all other
countries are planning for the elimination of poverty among
them, our plea is based on the full recognition of the pressing
needs of our crores of men, women and children, who live from
day to day in the paralysing fear of insecurity. Among the
countries of the world India is known to be a rich country inha-
bited by poor men. Though this looks like a derision and
paradox it is nevertheless a poignant fact. The poverty of
India is so self-evident that even a hurricane foreign tourist
through any part of India can easily observe. Statistically
computed the income per capita in India, according to Dr. V. K.
R. V. Rao, was Rs. 65.4 during the year 1931-32. In other
words, the average monthly earnings of an Indian amounted
to a little more than Rs. 5/- in 1931. Considering the abject
penury of the majority of Indians who hardly have a single
square meal a day, it is very doubtful if they can ever be cre-
dited with having the princely income of Rs. 5/- per mensem.
Staring facts belie such statistical speculations. Moreover, in
a country like India where there are tremendous differences in
scales of income and a very few have what may be called
income any average of income is bound to be false and

SECURITY TO PREVENT PAUPERISM

tive, Thov^la the poverty of India is an appalling fact, it is not
due to $ny single factor, economic, political, social or any other.
As a, natter of fact, it is the cumulative effect of many contri-
butory causes. Nevertheless, unemployment may be reckoned
as one of the main factors causing wide-spread poverty in India.

Extent of Unemployment. In the absence of statistical in-
formation it is difficult to estimate the number of unemployed
in India. Moreover, the artificial conditions created by the war
have provided temporary employment to thousands of our men
hitherto unemployed, thus submerging the problem of unem-
ployment for the time being. But the fear is widely and justi-
fiably entertained that as soon as the war ceases India will
return to its former position of poverty and unemployment
unless, indeed, she introduces in the not distant future a social
security programme which shall include an effective unemploy-
ment relief scheme.

From the Tables given on page 140 we get an idea of the
total number of earners and dependants and the general dis-
tribution of occupations in India.

TABLE I
Earners and Dependants in 1931

Persons

Males

Females

Total Population

350,529,557

180,620,612

169,908,945

Total Earners

125,270,827

94,415,536

27,855,291

Total Working Depen-

dants

28,615,063

7,644,575

20,070,488

Total Non- Working De-

pendants

196,648,667

75,560,501

121,083,166

It may be seen from Table I that non-working dependants
are considerably more than the earners. Even if we exclude the
total working dependants, who are a little more than one fourth
the number of total earners, non-working dependants consti-

OUR BEGGAR PROBLEM

tute much more than one half of the entire population of India
a f very great strain indeed on the earners considering their slender
income capacities. A glance at Table II will show that persons

TABLE II
General Distribution of Occupations in 1931

Exploitation
of animals and
vegetation

Exploitation
of
minerals

Industry (inclu-
ding Textiles,
Hides & skins,
wood, building
etc.)

Transport
including post
and telegraph

Trade

Public Admin-
istration &
Liberal Arts

110,760,324

404,262

17,523,982

9,778,520

9,336,969

4,819,452

occupied in services promising steady employment constitute
a minute fraction of earners. Except a few public administra-
tion services, like the army, the navy, the police and the State
services and a few of the transport services, the rest of the occupa-
tions provide no security of permanent employment. In occupa-
tions involving the exploitation of animals and vegetation and
minerals, in industry, in transport services and in trade, one is
frequently faced with the problem of seasonal employment and
sometimes with partial employment. Seasonal and partial
employment are part of the unemployment problem ; and though
they are not as disastrous in their consequences as total long-
term unemployment, yet they are potent enough to degenerate
the individual and the family.

The Tragedy of Unemployment. Unemployment is one of
the misfortunes most feared by wage-earners. "Non-employ-
ment or loss of employment in nearly every wage-earner's career,"
declares L. W. Squire, " stands as spectre of forbidden mien,
with a guant finger pointing the way to charity and old age
dependency." The truth of this statement is seen in the fact
that unemployment and irregular employment undermines the
morale of the jobless. The discouragement, the feeling of help-

204

SOCIAL pKCU^ITYiTO PREVENT PAUPERISM

lessness and uncertainty are ( most demoralizing. Enforced but
intermittent idleness produces restlessness. Frequent and pro-
longed unemployment destroys ambition and the sense of family
responsibility, and brings about utter demoralization.

The effect of unemployment on the worker and his family
is disastrous. As Mr. A. Epstein points out, it frequently de-
cides whether the worker shall drift from his skilled to any
unskilled job ; whether his wife shall add to her duties that of
supplementing her husband's wages, or whether the children shall
be undernourished or enter prematurely some blind alley occupa-
tion. Lack of work affects the industrious and thrifty workers
as well as the indolent and irresponsible ones. It not only sweeps
away the savings -accumulation of many years but destroys
the habit of thrift. It is no wonder therefore if the worker,
uncertain of the morrow, is encouraged to lead a hand-to-mouth
existence. A crisis in this level of existence is likely to make
him fall back on public charity for his support and that of his
family. In other words, unemployment lessens income, reduces
working efficiency, demoralizes the worker and his family, pro-
duces industrial and political unrest, and a variety of social
vices. Unemployment is, indeed, " a culture bed for pauper-
ism and its accompanying eVils. v

Why Don't They Save! If unemployment brings so much
misery and suffering to the wage-earners and their families, why,
some ask, don't they save ? The popular opinion is that any
able-bodied man who wants to work can find work and that
any one who is unemployed must be physically, mentally or
morally inferior. Further, it is assumed that any person who
is reasonably industrious and thrifty could lay aside enough
money to provide against temporary bad times as sickness and
old age. But is the prevailing wage rate high enough to meet
his and his family's need for food, clothing and shelter, and
then put by enough to cover days or periods of enforced idleness,
as well as sickness and old age? The Table given below indi-
cates the usual pre-war wage rates iti cities, towns and
mofussils :

205

OUR BEGGAfc f ROBI-EH

TABLE III
Daily Wnges of Workers

Workers

Cities

Towns

Mofussil

Rs.

Skilled

1-4-0 to 2-8-0

1-0-0 to 2-4-0

0-14-0 to 2-0-0

Semi-skilled

0-12-0

0-10-0

0-6-0

Unskilled

0-12-0

0-8-0

0-5-0

Unskilled Women
Workers ...

0-8-0

0-6-0

0-4-0

The above wages are hardly enough to meet the needs of a
working class family made up of the worker, his wife and two

children. Because such wages are inadequate, it becomes neces-
sary to make the wife and children work to supplement the
family income. The industry which underpays its workers
has no right to exist as it makes the wife and children labour
to make both ends meet. It is indeed a cruel form of exploita-
tion. But this is not the whole story. Industrial strife, which
is so common an aspect of our modern industry, makes a further
reduction in the family's monthly earnings. The following
Table sets out the number of disputes each year since 1930,
the number of persons affected by them and the number of
working days lost.

SOCIAL raetntirnr TO PKEVENT PAUPERISM

TABLE IV
Industrial Disputes in India ^ 1930-B9

Year

Disputes j Workers affected (Working days lost

1980

140

106,301

2,261,781

1981

166

208,008

2,408,128

imt

118

128,099

1,922,487

1MB

146

164,988

2,168,961

1984

220,808

4,775,5Sd

19S5

145

114,217

978,475

19&6

157

169,029

2,858,062

197

879

647,801

8,082,257

1958

401,075

9,198,708

1939

406

409,189

4,992,795

TOTAL

2,228

2,654,465 | 40,042,108

These figures are significant : Within a period of ten years
there occurred a total of 2,223 strikes and lock-outs involving
a total of 2,654,465 employees. The time loss amounted to
40,042,108 days. This means considerable financial loss to the
workers affected. Industrial disputes, while generally helpful
to elevate the worker's standard, frequently sap the little savings,
if any, and drive him to the money lender or on the road to
beg. Is it any wonder then if our workers, instead of having a
bank account are heavily indebted ? " The majority of indus-
trial workers," reports the Royal Commission on Labour, " are
in debt for the greater part of their working lives. Many, indeed,
are born in debt and it evokes both admiration and regret to
find how commonly a son assumes responsibility for his father's
debt an obligation which rests on religious and social but
seldom on legal sanction. It is estimated that, in most indus-
trial centres, the porportion of families or individuals who are
in debt is not less than two-thirds of the whole. We believe that,
in the majority of cases, the amount of debt exceeds three
months' wages and is often in excess of this amount." 1 Similarly,
in rural areas the problem of indebtedness is very serious and
so also the problems of unemployment and poverty are very
great. Under such circumstances is it possible for the poor wage-

1 Report of the Royal Commission on Labour, 1981, p. 248.

OUR BEGGAtt PROBLEM

earner to save to protect himself and his family against any
form of misfortune or crisis ?

Unemployment Insurance. In view of the disastrous effects
of unemployment, the inability ot tne worker to save and the
amount of unemployment which normally exists in our country,
it is necessary to devise ways and means 'of protecting the un-
employed. For purposes of treatment we may classify the un-
employed under different heads : (a) those who are temporarily
unemployable ; (b) those who are temporarily unemployed but
inefficient ; (c) those who are employable but more or less per-
manently unemployed ; (d) those who are unemployable and
permanently unemployed and (e) those who are permanently
unemployed and unwilling to work.

The causes which bring about these various classes of un-
employed are many and diverse. Some of them are found in
the very nature of our industrial organization itself such as fluc-
tuation in the demand for labour and the labour policies of in-
dustries. Some others are found in the individual himself such
as mental and physical defect, lack of training, etc. Still others
arise from social changes and natural disturbances. The methods
we adopt for the solution of this problem must attack the root
causes. To begin with, it is necessary to stabilise industry and
dovetail seasonal industries. Then we need well organized em-
ployment exchanges and they must work in co-operation with the
best social service agencies. We must havevo cational training
centres to train youth. Further, there should be correctional
institutions to retrain the unemployable who are " workshy."

But this is not all. For those who are involuntarily unem-
ployed, we must provide unemployment insurance to prevent
personal and family disorganization. The principle underlying
unemployment insurance is not new. It is the same principle
on which our joint family system is based, namely, that in times
of crisis the burden of an individual member should not be borne
by himself alone but should be shared by the other members
of the family. Unemployment insurance really means that the
burden now borne by workers who are involuntarily idle will be
spread over a large part of society. Since enforced idleness is due
208

SOCIAL SECURITY TO PREVENT PAUPERISM

not to personal causes but social, its burden should ba borne, not
wholly by the man himself but by the employer and the State.

Some of the industrial hazards may best be guarded against
by means of unemployment insurance and sickness insurance
schemes. In our country unemployment insurance, whether
voluntary or compulsory, does not exist at all, while voluntary
sickness insurance exists among a very few mills to provide bene-
fits only to a handful of workers who contribute their shaie to
the insurance fund. The industrially unemployed have no op-
tion but to knock about till they find a job or, if they do not
find one, to beg, borrow or steal. There are not even private
charity organizations to provide the unemployed with means
of livelihood. In America prior to 1929 the burden of provid-
ing relief to the unemployed " was borne by private organiza-
tions operating locally, and, in larger measure, by local public
agencies." 1 State agencies supervised the dispensing of relief.
But within a decade social insurance measures have progressed
so much in America that during the six months ending June
30, 1938, 2,500,000 workers out of a number of 27,500,000 who
were covered by insurance, received benefits. 2 The credit of
compulsory unemployment insurance goes to Switzerland which
introduced it as early as 1904. But the experience of Great
Britain in compulsory unemployment insurance is much greater ;
though the system was introduced only in 1911, it has passed
through several amendments during the succeeding years, cul-
minating in the suggestions contained in the comprehensive
Beveridge Plan. Italy, Austria and other European countries before
the war had their schemes of compulsory unemployment insur-
ance. One point worthy of note is that, though in most countries
unemployment insurance experience dates back to only three
decades, the scheme has been found to be extremely useful in
preventing poverty and dependence. Hence, it has had pheno-
menal extension in recent years.

Unemployment insurance generally provides benefits to
persons who have lost their livelihood. Under the Beveridge

1 Millspaugh, A. ., Public Welfare Organisation, p. 808.

2 See Stewart, M. S., Security or the Dole, p. 11.

209

OUR BEGGAR PROBLEM

Plan an unemployed person gets removal and lodging grants.
Unemployment benefit will continue as long as unemployment
lasts, but is usually subject to a condition of attendance at a
work or training centre after a certain period. This means the
scheme contemplates not merely financial benefit but technical
rehabilitation of the individual. The receipt of unemployment
benefits is subject to the condition that the worker will have
actually paid 26 contributions towards his insurance.

Though compulsory unemployment insurance has worked
well in other countries, there are great difficulties in the way
of its introduction in India. One tremendous difficulty is the
low income level of the Indian worker which we have already
considered and which makes it impossible for him to put by
for an emergency. Further, with money barely sufficient to
feed himself and his family, the Indian worker cannot be ex-
pected to contribute anything towards his unemployment in-
surance. Perhaps the scheme of unemployment insurance may
be tried among the skilled workers in cities. But skilled workers
are only a few while semi-skilled and unskilled workers are legion.
Also the skilled worker has more or less steady employment
while the semi-skilled and the unskilled workers are the constant
victims of unemployment hazards. It is wage-earners of this
class who are most in need of insurance protection and j^et wholly
incapable of joining contributory insurance. Since society
is responsible for the present day economic organization which
brings about involuntary unemployment, it is its duty to as-
sume the burden of social protection of the poorest and most
insecure of the population, and grant unemployment assurance
not as charity but as a matter of right.

Sickness l/m^ran^^, Sickness insurance in India, in so far
as it affects the ^ health and means of living of the industrial
worker, suffers from the same defects as unemployment insur-
ance. But the incidence of sickness must be guarded against
not only among the workers but among the nation as a whole.
Sickness is a national problem, and underlying it is the ques-
tion of nutrition and health of the entire community. It is
frequently disease that disintegrates and dismembers the Indian

SOCIAL SECURITY TO PREVENT PAUPERISM

family. While illness of the earning member paralyses
sources pf income, illness of the members of the family drains
and impoverishes the resources of the family. Sickness,' there-
fore, my be characterized as one of the major causes of India's
pauperization. Influenza, tuberculosis, small-pox, malaria, res-
piratory diseases and a dozen other nameless ones take their
heavy toll of victims annually. The incidence of death by
disease in British India in 1986 and 1937 are given below :

TABLE V
Deaths from Diseases in British India.

Disease

Deaths

1936 1987

Cholera

159,720
104,805
13,021
281,666
493,441
3,593,497
1,729,581

99,054
54,810
28,169
267,479
487,319
3,569,590
1,695,954

Small -pox

Plaerue

Dysentery & Diarrhoea

Respiratory Diseases
Fevers

Other causes ...

Total ...

6,375,731

6,202,375

The above Table shows that the largest number of deaths
are due to " fevers " but unfortunately the separate figures
relating to the individual diseases contained in the group are
seldom given as the present system of registration makes this
impossibe. Nevertheless, among fevers malaria continues to
be the gravest menace to the wage-earners. Colonel Sinton,
of the Indian Medical Service, pointed out not long ago that
at least one hundred million individuals suffer yearly from
malaria in British India alone, and of these only about a tenth
receive treatment in hospitals- Major Bently, also of the
Indian Medical Service, made a specialstudy of malaria inBengal.
According to his estimate, some eighty thousand villages in the

OUR BEGGAR PROBLEM

pitovince were stricken with malaria. He reckoned that some
80 million people suffer from the disease in Bengal alone. It
has been calculated that deaths from malaria during 1936
amounted to 1,567,084 or about 44 per cent of total recorded
* fever ' deaths. Malaria is more common in rural areas than
in towns, though it is bad enough in the latter.

Public health statistics in India seldom indicate the social
importance of many of the widespread diseases among the poor.
For example, typhoid fever is perhaps of even greater importance
in relation to poverty in the sickness it causes than in the deaths
resulting from it. For every death from typhoid fever, there
are about eight cases of illness averaging 75 days of inability
to work. Moreover, the conditions producing typhoid result
also in other forms of sickness. Similarly, malaria by its fre-
quent attacks, very materially affects the worker's earning capa-
city, lowers his vitality and predisposes him to other causes of
death. In fact, it causes more sickness and loss of working
power than any other disease in India. Further, from sickness
statistics referring to India it is not known how many earning
members of families are affected, what are the number of work-
ing hours lost (of industrial workers during sickness), what is
the amount actually expended on medical care, and what is
the total of wages lost due to absence from work during illness.

During 1980-31 the Bombay Labour Office conducted an
enquiry into sickness incidence among the cotton mill workers
in Bombay City. Their results embodied in Table VI given
below makes revealing reading. It shows, in a limited field of
enquiry, that about 22% received no medical treatment at
all, while about 40% of the sick resorted to country medicines.
What type of country medicines was used is not known. But
there is no doubt that the workers resorted to treatments of
doubtful efficacy driven by the forbidding costs of proper medi-
cal care. Of course, there is the element of superstition and
ignorance which influence the Indians' preference of quack
medicines and country remedies. Most often sick workers and
their families content themselves with wearing charms supposed
to be potent enough to drive away any disease or deformity be-

211

SOCIAL SECURITY TO PREVENT PAUPERISM

longing to the body and the brain. But making allowance for
superstitious ideas, it must be said that poverty is at the root

TABLE VI
Medical Treatment Received by Workers during Sickness 1

Males

Females

Total

Percent-

Kind of Treatment

no. of

age to

No. of

Per-

No. of

Per-

cases

total

cases

centage

cases

centage

No Treatment

870

18.80

347

34.77

1,217

21.08

Country Medicines

1,848

89.92

401

40.18

2,249

39*97

Western Medicines

1,586

33.18

195

19.54

1,731

80.76

Country and Western

Medicines

0.95

0.30

0.84

Patent Medicines ...

294

6.35

4.61

340

6.04

Patent and Western

Medicines

0.15

...

0.12

Patent and Country

Medicines

0.09

...

0.07

Patent, Country and Wes-

tern Medicines ...

0.02

...

0.02

Other remedies including

imperfectly specified . . .

0.54

0.60

0.55

Total ...

4,629

100.00

998

100.00

5,627

100.00

of the worker's medical preferences. It is not true to say, as
is generally done, that Indians' denial of scientific medical care
of themselves is based on natural antipathy towards Western
methods of treatment. We can affirm from our experience
that Indians are not slow to take advantage of modern medicine
when it is made accessible to them. The question is not Indian
or foreign medicine. Whichever is found to be effective must
be recommended and administered to the sick. But the Indian
worker has so far found the costs of medical care much beyond
his means. Indeed, proper medical care is looked upon by the
average Indian as a luxury! Perhaps, the only proper medi-

1 Quoted by Keni, V. P., The Problem of Sickness Insurance, p. 85.

218

OUR BEGGAR PROBLEM

cine which the poor Indian takes and that unconsciously
is chlorine, when water is chlorinated at its source 1

In recommending the provision of adequate medical faci-
lities, the development of welfare schemes, and the construc-
tion of working class houses, the Royal Commission on Labour
persuadingly remarked : " There are few directions offering
such great opportunity for profitable investment on the part
of the State. The economic loss involved in the birth and rear-
ing of great numbers of children who do not live to make any
return to the community, in the sickness and disease which
debilitate a large proportion of the workers and in early death,
with the consequent reduction of the earning years is incalcul-
able. Even a small step in the prevention of these ills would
have an appreciable effect in increasing the wealth of India ;
a courageous attack on them might produce a revolution in the
standards of life and prosperity." 1

It has been calculated that the average daily cost of medi-
cine per indoor patient in the Maratha Tuberculosis Hospital
Bombay, during the nine years from 1931-39 was Rs. 0-1-7.
This is the lowest possible estimate. Based on this calculation,
it is suggested that the worker should contribute his share com-
pulsorily towards a sickness insurance fund, the employer should
contribute double the amount the worker contributes and the
State should pay towards the fund at least one fifth the sum of
the worker's contribution. In other words, a tripartite con-
tributory sickness insurance fund should be instituted and made
compulsory in all industries. This is a very feasible suggestion.
Though it is difficult to induce the worker to put by as. 5/- per
month for his sickness insurance, it is not impossible. But
will the employee come forward with his share of as. 10/- per
month per worker ? And is the Government ready to pay
towards the fund one anna per mensem per head? 2

The whole problem of sickness incidence should be viewed
as a national problem. Indeed, the health and vitality of the
entire population should be the first concfern of the State, Dur-

1 Report of the Royal Commission on Labour, 1081, p. 248.

2 See Keni, V. P., The Problem of Sickness Insurance, p. 48.

SOCIAL SECUEITY TO PREVENT PAUPERISM

ing their illness, individuals, whether they are workers or non-
workers, are burdens to themselves and to others. In view
of the importance of health to national welfare, Health Insu-
rance Societies in England and America have undertaken to
give medical aid to whomsoever contributes on an insurance
basis. Also groups of individuals in various localities unite
for obtaining medical benefits for themselves and their families.
For a specified annual fee the members of the group are entitled
to get hospital care for a specified number of days. This system
of obtaining medical benefit is well known as Group Hospita-
lization. In America groups of people belonging to a region,
sometimes whole villages, obtain medical service in this man-
ner. There is now compulsory health insurance in the various
countries of the world, including Japan. Generally, insurance
is compulsory only for wage-earners and for employed persons
receiving less than a specified income. 1

In no other country in the world does health insurance
apply to the entire population as in Soviet Russia. Soviet
health insurance, says M. Stewart, is about as all-inclusive as
it is possible to be. " All workers are included without excep-
tion." There is no restriction ^because of income, and the right
to obtain benefit commences after two months' employment.
The law provides full wages for a worker during a leave of ab-
sence because of illness, when quarantined by a contagious
sickness of some one in his family, or while nursing a sick mem-
ber of the family. There is no waiting period ; benefits begin
on the day of sickness. " Full wages " does not, however, in-
clude piece-work earnings, and is subject to a maximum of
180 roubles a month. In addition to obtaining his wages, the
patient is entitled to full 'medical care, including the service of
specialists and surgeons. Free care in hospitals and sanato-
ria is provided when needed, as are drugs, medicines and ap-
pliances. This service is granted not only to the insured person,
as in Great Britain, but to the entire family. Permanent and
partial disability are provided for by a rather complex system

1 Reed, I . S., Health Imuranct, p. 210.

OUR BEGGAR PfiOBLEM

of pensions, which vary in accordance with need and the degree
of the disability. 1

Steps taken in the field of protection against sickness have
been found to produce notable results. Summarizing the Ger-
man experience of health insurance, Dr. Frieda Wunderlich adds :
" Health insurance has protected the health of the German
pfebple in a period in which starvation and misery threatened
it With deterioration. It has survived all strains of the War
and its aftermath and has been little affected by the depression.
Specifically, it has lowered the death rate, sheltered pregnant
mothers and infants, removed one of the largest causes for seek-
ing poor relief, and raised relief standards. Through its mass
records of illness it has contributed toward extending the scope
of medical research and toward effective preventive measures,
enabled the hospitals to modernize and increase their equip-
ment, removed one of the principal handicaps in the professional
paths of the young doctor, and has tended to make more uni-
form the geographical distribution of medical facilities." 2

While other countries have made so much progress, we are
still far behind in this respect. The question of sickness insurance
was brought to the notice of the Government of India in 1928
by the recommendations of the International Labour Conference.
In its reply to the Conference the Government stated that it was
not feasible just then to introduce sickness insurance owing
to the migratory character of labour, the worker's habit of re-
turning to his village at times of illness, the lack of sufficient
number of medical practitioners and the opposition of workers
to compulsory deductions from their pay. Since the incidence
of sickness among the working classes is very high, and the worker
during periods of Illness finds himself destitute of resources, the
Royal Commission suggested that all methods that may lead
to the alleviation of the existing hardships should be explored.
The tentative scheme formulated by the Commission separated
the responsibility for the medical and financial benefits. The

1 Steward, M., Social Security, (1087), p. 27.

2 Wunderlich, Frieda, "What Health Insurance did for Germany." Social Secu-
rity, 1086. (New York, American Association for Social Security, Inc.) 1986, pp. 189, 140.

216

SOCIAL SECURITY TO PREVENT PAUPERISM

former, maintained the Commission, could be undertaken by
Government on a non-contributory basis, the latter through
the employers on the basis of contributions by themselves and
by the workers. 1

And this was some twelve years ago. Although . illness is
the most common hazard to which every working class family
is exposed, it is not yet covered by social insurance. The medical
facilities are hopelessly inadequate, and the wages paid make
it impossible for most workers to get through periods of crisis
without borrowing, or making their wives and children work.
The need for sickness insurance in our country is apparent. The
difficulties ot putting through such a scheme are no doubt for-
midable, but they do not absolve the Government of its respon-
sibility of providing the worker relief during periods of pro-
tracted illness. '

Workmen's Compensation. Let us now turn our attention
to the tragic toll of the injuries and deaths resulting from accidents.
The two major sources of accidents are our machine industry
and the high speed transportation. Unfortunately, complete
and accurate statistical information is woefully lacking; not that
we do not have statistical bureaux but they are more concerned
with material things than witlrhuman events. Hence, we know
less about such an important matter as the number of accidental
injuries suffered by our population and more about the quantity
of cotton imported or peanuts exported !

We shall deal here only with industrial accidents. Even
in this field our statistical information is fragmentary as only
accidents which occur in industries which come under the Factories
Act are recorded for purposes of compensation. In recognition
of the hazards of industrial work the first step towards social
security in India was taken with the introduction of the Work-
men's Compensation Act in 1923. Its scope which was very
limited has now been increasingly enlarged by numerous amend-
ments to the Act from 1926 to 1939. The Act now provides
coverage for occupational diseases also though such cases for

1 Report of the Royal Commission on Labour in India, p. 268.

217

OUE BEGGAR PROBLEM

compensation have been few with this requisition that the
employee should have served more than months to claim the
benefits falling under occupational diseases. The Workmen's
Compensation Act includes only those with monthly income
below Rs. 800/- and it is administered on provincial lines. The
rate of compensation varies according to the nature and extent
of the accident, the wage, and the majority or minority of the
worker.

The Act was passed in July 1924. From that date to Decem-
ber 1940 there were over 360,000 accidents for which compensa-
tions were paid. Of these there were about 11,000 deaths, the
rest being non-fatal cases. Industrial accidents always present
an economic problem as they involve either a total loss of income
or a loss of earning capacity. Industrial accidents differ
from other groups of accidents in that they clioose a class as
their victim the class of wage-earners who are least able to
bear the burden. To the worker accident means death, mutila-
tion, disfigurement, dismemberment, pain and suffering, expense
of recovery and loss of earning capacity.

Industrial injury is in a special way the result of modern
civilization. It is closely connected with the factory and the
machine. Many, if not all, of the hazards are a distinct con-
sequence of this industrial system. But what does an industrial
injury mean in terms of human values ? It may mean death
at one extreme. It may mean nothing more than a slight wound
at the other. But in between these two extremes it may mean
a great many things. Let us briefly consider these various possibi-
lities. 11,000 deaths mostly of men in their vigour of life from
industrial accidents ! It means that many groups of families
lost their bread-winner and several times that number of de-
pendants were left without support. And then, 349,000 non-
fatal accidents and these include temporary and permanent
disablement. Temporary disability involves a period of enforced
idleness ; there is the cost of recovery and the loss of wages. Fur-
ther, the injury, the pain, the anxiety and the economic loss are
considerable. This is so in the case of temporary disability.
One can imagine how much more will be the loss and anxiety

218

SOCIAL SECUBITY TO PREVENT PAUPERISM

if the inability to resume one's normal occupation with the same
efficiency as before is not temporary but permanent. In this
group are thousands who remain alive but with injuries so serious
that they are totally disabled for life. It includes thousands
who lose an eye or both eyes, one leg or two legs, an arm or
a hand* or one or more fingers.

The wage- earners are workers with their hands and arms
and feet and eyes. Deprived of these they become helpless
and dependent and in many cases they suffer a considerable
reduction in theif earning capacity, since their economic efficiency
depends on their physical fitness. Not a few of those rendered
blind, one-armed, one-legged, total cripples are forced to join
the rank of beggars. Fatal accidents to wage-earners mean bro-
ken families, dependent widows, neglected children and orphans,
reduced standard of living, malnutrition and deteriorated health.
In mechanised industry fatal accidents, they say, will happen.
If this is the price we have to pay for our economic progress, is
it not enough if we exact that price in human life ? Must we
also exact the additional price of want and destitution from
their wives, children and other dependants? Of course not.
we say ; industry must bear the financial loss which is really no
burden to it as the loss is shifted on to the consumers by adding
it to the cost of production.

Most of us then approve of compensation as a just and effi-
cient method of handling the economic consequences of industrial
accidents. But what is the basis of compensation and what is
it in reality? Compensation may be (1) equal and uniform;
(2) adjusted to need ; or (3) adjusted to loss, i.e., previous
wages. The principle of equal and uniform benefits is rarely
applied to accident compensation. And seldom are benefits
adjusted to needs. The prevailing principle is the adjustment
of benefits to wages, that is, an adjustment primarily to losses.
The law in the literal sense of the word is a law of compensation
and should mean full and not partial compensation. It should
mean ** complete compensation for losses sustained ; for the cost
of medical treatment and care, for the loss of wage for the dura-
tion of disability ". But is it so in reality? The provision Telat-

OUR BEGGAR PROBLEM

ing to the amounts of compensation of the Workmen's Compensa-
tion Act as amended are given in the Table below :

TABLE VII
Rates of Compensation for Different Wage Classes 1

Monthly wages of the
workman injured

Amount of compensation for

Half monthly payment as
compensation for temporary
disablement of adult

Death of
adult

Permanent
total disable-
ment of adult

(1)

(2)

(3)

(4)

But not

More than more than

Rs.

Half

his monthly wages

Rs.

Rs. As.

500

700

550

770

600

840

630

882

720

1,008

810

1,134

8 8

900

1,260

1,050

],470

9 8

1,200

1,680

45 t

1,350

1,890

11 4

1,500

2,100

12 8

1,800

2,520

2,100

2,940

17 8

2,400

3,360

100

3,000

4,200

100

200

3,500

4,900

200

4,000

5,600

Whether our compensation system is good or imperfect can
only be judged by the treatment it provides for serious accidents
involving grave economic consequences cases of permanent

1 Schedule IV to the Act.

220

SOCIAL SECURITY fO PREVENT PAUPERISM

total disablement. What a gruesome story of suffering, despair
and economic distress each one of such cases represents ! The
totally blinded, the armless, the legless, the worker with a broken
back ! Hopelessly handicapped through accident ! If the worker
before his permanent disablement received a monthly wage
of Rs. 10/-, he will be entitled to a compensation of Rs. 700/-
which represents his 70 months' or little less than six years*
wages. What isheto do afterthis period? Is itright on the part
of industry to make him shift for himself, to become a dependant
or a street beggar for the rest of his life? Are not those who
belong to the group of totally and permanently disabled entitled
to life benefits? The significant features of partial disability
is that it does not altogether destroy but only reduces the earning
capacity. As the loss expresses itself in reduction of wages,
compensation must be based upon the amount of that reduction
for the duration of that disability, that is, till death. So long as
the entire loss is not covered but only a specific portion of it,
it cannot be considered satisfactory. It will only create a large
body of cripples and semi-cripples dependent on public charity
for the rest of their lives and also reduce thousands of families
to a very low standard of living.

And now the fatal accidents. The amount of compensation
payable in the case of the injured workman when monthly wage
is not more than Rs. 10/- is Rs. 500/- for death. If he is a single
man without dependants then the economic loss is not serious.
At the other extreme is the married man with a wife, several
small children and other dependants to support. Our Compen-
sation Act provides only for a uniform treatment without differen-
tiating the needs of the two cases which is obviously unjust.
Compensation should be adjusted according to the need of the
dependants. Our Act provides only a lump sum death benefit
equal to about four years' wages. The amount if paid out all
at once looms large in the eyes of the disconsolate widow. But
how much security does it offer for the duration of her widowhood
and the children's minority?

Judged by these standards, we must admit that our compen-
sation system is inadequate and imperfect. Nevertheless, it

OUR BEGGAR PROBLEM

indicates that we have accepted the principle, of compensation
which is economically sound and ethically just. But we have
yet to achieve the standards of a good compensation law. Millions
are still uncovered by the Act. Its scope, therefore, has to be
extended and payment should be ajdusted to needs. To the
employer the additional cost of compensation insurance is not
a serious expense ; to the consumer it only means a small increase
in the price of goods but to the wage earner compensation means
much more. It is protection against misery, suffering and want.
Security against hazards of work conditions is the inalienable
right of the wage-earner, and it is the duty of society to provide
him and his family protection against poverty and pauperism
resulting from industrial accidents.

The Aged Poor. While medical science is striving to pro-
long man's life, the machine industry is reducing his period of
usefulness. Though the phrase "old at forty " may be an exag-
gerated statement of the problem, it has been found from ex-
perience in running an employment bureau that a man over forty
is at a disadvantage in securing employment in industry and th&t
opportunities of finding a job are few for a man of fifty. Even
while men are in employment it is not an uncommon practice in
some establishments to weed them out as soon as they show
signs of slowing down. When then, one may ask, is a man old ?
In answer to this question we must say that the real .test is the
test of fitness to carry on his job. It is not merely a question
of being young or old, but of being too young or too old for this,
that or the other type of work. Pragmatic standards of efficiency
are the criteria applied to test a person's fitness. Ordinarily,
physical energy begins to decline much before physical health, and
mental powers begin to deteriorate at a more advanced age.
Naturally therefore in primitive civilization, when physical
effort was essential, brawn was of more importance in the eco-
nomic usefulness of a man th$n his brain. But in an agricultural
civilization like ours, custodians of long experience and sound
judgment play an important part in transmitting the accumulat-
ed knowledge from one age to another. Hence, the mental
rather than the physical attitudes of old age determine its social

SOCIAL SECURITY TO PREVENT PAUPERISM

status. Reverence for age has thus become the foundation of
all social relationships in our rural civilization and has given
old men and women not only an important role but also protection
in the joint family system.

But unfortunately science is proving detrimental to the
security of old age in our country in more ways than one. It is
responsible for speeding up the methods of production. The
introduction of modern industry with its private wage contract
is disintegrating our rural economy. While the family unit
is the centre of agriculture, the individual is the centre of a wage
contract. Industrial employment presupposes a definite amount
of working capacity and ability to keep up with the speed of the
machine. A wage contract, therefore, has to be entered into under
competitive conditions where the aged are placed at a disadvantage
in competing with younger and stronger men. Then again,
practically all modern tendencies, even those which are supposed
to be initiated in his own welfare, work against the older employee.
The increasing standard of efficiency, the elimination of skill
and experience, workmen's compensation laws etc., all tend to
discourage the hiring of older workers. The basic requirements
of speed and alertness of modern industry necessitate the casting
aside of older workers as so much industrial scrap-heap. Can
we blame the old worker if he bemoans the fact that the prolonga-
tion of life without proportionately increasing the period of useful-
ness only results in increasing the years of drudgery and
destitution ? Is it any wonder then if old age under these
inevitable conditions of modern industry becomes a serious
economic and social problem?

Further, science is now laying the basis for an urban civiliza-
tion in India. In doing so it is disintegrating the joint family
system which serves even now in rural areas the purpose of an
old age pension. The joint family has through the ages- cared
for the aged and such responsibility is the most natural solution
of the problem. But modern industrial conditions not only dis-
integrate this system but make it impossible for children and
jelatiyes to afford the expenses involved in caring for their aged
parents owing to low wages and higher costs of living in industrial

OUR BEGGAR PROBLEM

Cities. Hiven at that, many reduce their requirements and those
of their children to the barest minimum possible in order to fcare
for their old parents. Though such filial affection and the sense
of duty are admirable, one wonders if it is just that the little
children have their rights sacrificed in the interests of their aged
grandparents. The case of the old person who has no relatives
upon whom to depend is even more pitiable.

Out of a population of about 400,000,000 there are approxi-
mately 80,000,000 persons of 60 years and over in India. In
other words, it means that for every 1 ,000 of the population there
are about 14 persons who are 60 years old or more, some of whom
are protected by pensions, personal savings, income from property
or by relations. It is only those who are not covered thus that
ajre in need of State protection^ as the possibilities of self-support
for them ar6 infinitely less now than in a pre-machine era. Thou-
sands of the aged who are reduced to destitution and beggary
are persons who had borne their share of the world's work for
thirty or forty years and made their humble contribution to the
creation of wealth. Is it fair to let these veterans of toil to seek,
at the eve of their life, charity for food and the pavements to
rest their weary head?

Old Age Assistance. How then is this problem to be solved ?
We are aware that, while in some instances personal depravity
is responsible for misery and dependency, the major causes of
old age dependency lie in our institutions, in our changing social
and economic order. Low wages, unemployment, strikes and
lockouts, business failures and industrial superannuation are
more potent causes than idleness or thriftlessness which are not
infrequently the effects of the former maladjustments. In view
of the seriousness of the problem and the untold misery it caiises,
many of the countries have adopted measures for its solution
or mitigation, and we can well learn from their valuable experience.

Of the great powers of the worl$, it was Germany which gave
the lead in providing protection to the aged. It was in 1889
that the German plan of compulsory insurance was enacted and
naturally, therefore, it is the oldest plan in operation. Under
this system insurance is compulsory for manual workers and others

224

The social worker and his problem

Ever Present

SOCIAJL SECURITY TO PREVENT PAUPEBISM

earning upto 7,200 marks (about Rs. 5,500} a year. And now
forty-two nations provide security of some kind or other for the
aged. It is interesting to note that old-age insurance has de*
finitely passed through the stage of voluntary protection and is
now compulsory in practically all civilized countries. Within
the last ten years old-age security from being the concern of
labour and social welfare organisations has become one of .the
major issues in the United States of America. Old age assistance
legislation, starting with Arizona as far back as 1914, has gone
on spreading rapidly. In 1936, the Federal Government extended
co-operation to States in financing old-age assistance. By
September 19fe8 all the American States qualified themselves for
Federal Aid by adopting old-age assistance scheme. 1

Thus practically all the progressive countries of the world
have adopted measures to protect the aged from a life of misery
and pauperism. But we in India have not yet become aware
of the gravity of the problem. Certain amount of protection in
old age is no doubt provided in some establishments. Govern-
ment servants are covered by old-age pensions. Most munici-
palities and public utility services and a few public concerns have
adopted provident fund benefits some of which are contributory
and others non-contributory. In 1941 the Government of Bombay
made subscription to the Government Provident Fund corn*
pulsory for all its servants. All railway employees and the
employees of local and public bodies and a few* of the larger
public companies give gratuities to their employees on retirement.
But for industrial labour outside of Government industrial
establishments, pensions on retirement are almost non-existent.
Some concerns, of course, do give small pensions to old or faithful
workers but these are mostly ex gratia and cannot be claimed as
of right. Thus we see that thousands of workers arfe hot covered
by any form of old age assistance ; destitution and beggary is the
inevitable lot of many of them, though it is not known how ma,py
beggars are recruited from this class. Their number must,
indeed, be considerable. '

1 Roseman, Alvin : " Old-Age Assistance " in the Anna'* of the Ameriotin Academy
of Political and Social Science, March 1930.

OUR BEGGAR PROBLEM

Old age dependency is with us and it has come to stay since
it is largely a result of our industrial development. From what
has already been said it must be cleat that a grave social problem
does exist and will probably remain as serious for many years
to come unless we adopt a radical social policy as early as possible.
Otherwise, the difficulties to be faced in old age will multiply
with the increasing industrialization of India. This problem
can be met by instituting old-age pensions for the aged poor by
the State. The system should be non-contributory and appli-
cable to all wage-earners who are sixty and over. Old-age benefits
should cover at least the bare minimum of physical needs, though
one would prefer a slightly generous grant to enable the aged
to live under more desirable conditions than were possible during
their years of toil. It may be better to pay benefits in kind rather
than in cash. Homes should also be provided under proper
-supervision for those who have no one to care for them. India
is second to no othei* country in the world in her veneration for
the aged . Yet thousands of old people in our country drag on
a .miserable existence uncared for and unprotected poor old
folk, " as full of grief as age, wretched in both ". If India's
^charitable sentiments and resources, together with the State
t^omtributions, are harnessed, this major problem of old age
dependency can be easily solved.

Neglected and Dependent Mothers and Children.-~-1hz problem
of dependent mothers and children is not new. w llere again
the joint family system provides a more or less satisfactory
degree of security as the burden of support usually is not in-
tolerable if the families are large enough to distribute the load.
Only in our urban areas where the shift is from an agricultural
to an industrial society is the need to provide protection against
the premature death of the family bread-winner has become
much greater. It is not an easy task for the widowed mother
of the working class to support hfcr dependent children. To
make matters worse, the burden of widowhood falls withblighten-
ing effect on the Indian woman who, more than any other woman
in the world, is subjected to all kinds of social taboos. In most

226

SOCIAL SECURITY TO PREVENT PAUPERISM

cases widows in India have to endure untold miseries as they are
seldom trained for economic independence.

According to the 1931 Census, the total number of widows
was 25,496,660. Now there must be a greater number as the
population has increased much since then. This large number
includes all sorts of widows rich $md poor, young and old,
pretty and ugly, with children and without children, with jobs
and without jobs. The rich widows and those who can remarry
do not usually become social problems. Even where remarriage
is permissible, the chances of an elderly widower to enter a new
marriage are considerably better than those of a widow of the
same age. Then again, a widower with children is more likely
to want to marry again but a widow with children has a lesser
chance to remarry whether she wants to or not. Then there
are several orthodox communities where remarriage is not allowed
for a widow. It is the group of widows without financial pro-
tection but with childredVwhich gives rise to a serious problem.

Turning for statistical information to the Census Report
of 1981, we find that widows in the population per 1,000, leaving
out widows below twenty, were 78 in the age group 20-80; 212
in the age group 80-40 ; 507 in the age group 40-60 ; 802 aged
60 and over. The last group naturally comes under old-age
dependency. Widowhood between the ages of 80 and 50 the
period when children are dependent constitutes the real econo-
mic problem arising from the loss of the bread-winner, particularly
of the wage-earning class. The economic problem of widowhood,
therefore, assumes its most depressing form when complicated
by not only low financial status but also the presence of minor
children. The widowed mother must then either seek employ-
ment herself or send her children to work early in life, thus
denying them the opportunities for development and growth.
In either case the children must suffer.

Tp support themselves and their little ones, widowed mothers
take up work in factories, enter domestic service or become coolie
women. Thus they are away for nine hours or more and return
home at sunset where the burden of household duties awaits them.
This means the strain of double employment ; naturally after

227

OUR BEGGAR PROBLEM

a heavy day's work, they have little energy or interest left to
care for their little children or attend to household duties. During
their absence from home, children are left to play on the streets,
or to be cared for by old relatives or indifferent neighbours. Is
it any wonder if the delinquency rate among children of wage-
earning mothers is found t^ be high ? If children are too young
it is not uncommon for working mothers to administer opium
to make them inactive during the day. An investigation under-
taken by the Government of Bombay not long ago revealed the
fact that 98% of the infants born to working women in Bombay
had opium given to them. Thousands of widowed mothers
are thus obliged to neglect their children in order to support them.
In these and other ways the outside employment of widows
with little children does have serious effects upon themselves
and their children. Thus we have in the wage-earning widowed
mother a dual responsibility, the social consequences of which
are most undesirable and destructive.

Little children are the citizens of tomorrow and the mother
renders a service to the State in properly caring for them. The
natural home of the child is most important for its growth and
development. Hence, the White House Conference declared :
" Home life is the highest and finest product of civilization.
It is the great moulding force of mind and of character. Children
should not be deprived of it except for urgent and compelling
reasons. Children of reasonable, efficient and deserving mothers,
who are without the support of the normal bread-winner, should,
as a rule, be kept with -their parents, such aid being given as may
be necessary to maintain suitable homes for the rearing of the
children." Since most of our middle-aged widows possess no
special skill, their earning capacity is limited. Hence, complete
maintenance oFsuch dependent families seems to be the only
possible way of meeting the problem.

The problem of dependent mothers has given rise to what
is known as " Mothers' Pension " movement in the progressive
countries of the West. France, Germany, Denmark, New
Zealand and America and some other have adopted the pension
system. Many of the American States have provided for not

SOCIAL SECURITY TO PREVENT PAUPERISM

only financial aid but service to the mother in helping her to use
the aid properly and in solving the problems which arise in the
bringing up of her children. Since dependency of mothers and
children arises not only from widowhood but also from desertion,
illegitimacy, divorce, imprisonment and the mental and physical
incapacity of the fathers, such mothers are also given aid. In
our country no such help is available. It is imperative to provide
for such pension to prevent mothers with children of the
working class drifting from partial support into beggary and
pauperism.

The neglect of children is bad enough in the fatherless
family where the mother has to work for their support but neglect
becomes even greater when children are motherless, as widowed
fathers grow irresponsible owing to outside interests. It is from
such broken families that the vagrant, the derelict and the de-
linquent are largely recruited. Since the family is the cradle of
humanity and the nursefcy of civilization, and the good mother
its presiding deity, is it not the duty of the State to protect the
mother from hazards and thus safeguard the family from catas-
trophe ?

Maternal mortality deprives a large number of children
of the mother's love and protection, and leaves them to shift for
themselves when they are too young to do so. Therefore, among
deaths from preventable causes, the most disastrous, as far as
the child is concerned, is maternal mortality. Though accurate
data are not available, it is estimated that about 25 mothers die
to every 1,000 children born. In other words, since some 10
million babies were born in the year 1986, about 250,000 mothers,
or a quarter of a million of the mothers, must have lost their
lives in giving birth to them. And many more of those
who survived child-birth must have been either weakened
or maimed in some way. Furthermore, the number of
deaths in themselves do not indicate the seriousness of
the consequences to the family, particularly to the children.
To them the mother's death or illness at this critical stage means
dependency and neglect. According to the Report of the Public
Health Commissioner, there were in 1937 some 99,000 deaths

OUE BEGGAE PEOBLEM

from cholera, a little over 54,000 deaths from small-pox and about
28*000 from plague. But maternal mortality is greater than
deaths from any of these. In view of this fact does it not seem
strange that our efforts to protect motherhood should be so
insignificant compared to the sums spent on the campaign against
cholera, small-pox and plague?

To prevent maternal and infant mortality arid to give
protection to motherhood, several countries have introduced
maternity insurance. But in India the need for such protection
is much greater because of the universality of marriage, low wages,
extreme poverty and the high rate of maternal mortality. Un-
fortunately, even now there is no all-India legislation to give
protection to working women in childbirth. This matter is still
considered as a provincial subject. However, we have to be
thankful that some of the provincial governments have passed
legislation providing for maternity benefits. The first provincial
legislative measure was the Bombay Maternity Benefits Act
of 1929 and this was followed by the passing of a similar Act
in the Central Provinces in 1981. These were the first Acts of
their kind in India. Since then the Provinces of Madras, Bengal,
Sind, Assam, the United Provinces, Ajmer-Merwara and
Delhi have also passed maternity benefit legislation. It is
interesting to note that the Bengal Legislature passed a
second Act known as the Bengal Maternity Benefit (Tea
Estates) Act, 1941 for women employed in tea plantations.
In the same year the Mines Maternity Benefits Act was
passed by the Central Legislature. Among Indian States
Mysore, Baroda and Cochin provide maternity benefits.
In view of the pressing need and the appalling suffering and
poverty of our working women, it is heart-rending to think that
out of the large* group of women workers in the whole of India
only a small proportion enjoys maternity benefits. However*
we have to be thankful that at least this much has been done in
the way of a beginning.

In spite of these measures, a large number of women do not
enjoy their benefits because of their ignorance and economic
helplessness, and because of the unscrupulousness of some em-

280

SOCIAL SECURITY TO PREVENT PAUPERISM

ployers. We need therefore a vigilant public opinion to compel
the provincial governments to enforce proper observance of these
measures. It is encouraging to note that some organizations
and industries have set up maternity benefits voluntarily*
The Bombay Municipality, for example, started a maternity
benefit scheme for its halalkhore and scavenging women in 1928.
By this scheme the classes benefited are given leave on full pay
for a period not exceeding 42 consecutives days. In Assam
voluntary maternity benefit schemes have been adopted by almost
every tea estate of repute. Planters in Madras decided early
in 1939 to pay a bonus and bear charges in connection with
the free feeding of the mother for periods of three weeks each
before entry into and after leaving hospital. So also many
of the jute mills have adopted a maternity benefit scheme.

The double purpose of Maternity Benefit is to provide the
extra money needed for medical care before and after child-birth
and a compulsory periq^l of rest to the mother before and
after delivery without any loss in income. Since the general
standard of living of the working class family is so low, the rates
of maternal and infant mortality so high, the poverty of the people
so great and the medical facilities so inadequate, there can be
little doubt that some form of maternity benefit would be of
great value to the health of the woman worker and her child at
a most critical period in the lives of both. Now that the principle
of maternity benefit has been accepted, every effort must be
made to extend it throughout India by legislation, and to encour-
age other employers who do not come under the law to adopt it
voluntarily to meet both the needs of the working woman and the
social purpose of protecting the life and health of both mother
and child. If the extension of the system is accompanied by
adequate public health service, it will, no doubt, contribute
much towards the reduction of mortality of mothers and depend-
ency and neglect of children.

Probkm of the Physically Handicapped. Though the extent
of the problem of physically handicapped is not as great as of
sickness, yet its seriousness is seen in the tendency of the crippled,
the blind, the deaf and the dumb to take to begging because of

231

OUR BEGGAR PROBLEM

our natural sympathy for them. It is not to be wondered, there-
fore, if a good part of the beggar population is made up of them.
In most of the countries of the West the problem of dependence
arising from infirmity and affliction is met by invalidity insurance.
This is done in some twenty-one countries. In Great Britain,
the Irish Free State and Northern Ireland, invalidity is covered
by health insurance.

In our country there is great indifference with regard to
this problem. No doubt, the State provides a few institutions
for the deaf-mutes of whom there are some 150,000 and for the
blind of whom there are about 600,000 in our population. These
institutions are supplemented by a few private ones. But
the existing provisions are very meagre indeed. In the absence
of any scheme to care for the thousands of physically handicapped,
vagrancy and beggar legislation has been found to be practically
useless to conibat the issue. There is a great need, therefore,
to devise a carefully thought-out relief system of caring for
these unfortunates the physically handicapped.

Reviewing the problem of India's pauperism and dependency
we find that it is mainly due to the cultural stagnation and the
social drift of the people and the adoption of Western indus-
trialism. Old institutions are broken and thrown into disuse
without new ones being built in accordance with Indian
thought and life. Western industrialism has come to us
with its slums, low-incomes, accidents, occupational diseases,
uncertainty of employment and super-annuation. The decay
of agricultural occupations, of home and subsidiary indus-
tries, has further accentuated the problem of poverty
and dependency. Decency, health, mutual aid, security, have 1
all been overwhelmed and lost in the whirlpool of competi-
tion. The family is splintered like glass on the rock
of economic insufficiency. Irresponsibility and desertion are
creating the criminal and the beggar. The legislators are in-
active, paralyzed by the immensity of our social problems.
In the meanwhile all these gathering sub-social currents are
disturbing the placidity of Indian life.

Under these circumstances we can ill-afford to lag behind

282

SOCIAL SECURITY TO PREVENT PAUPERISM

in providing social security for the less fortunate in our country
but we cannot stop there. Social security is only a half-way
house. We have to strike at the root cause of our social problems
the economic system. The present war has made it clear
beyond a shadow of doubt that there is something radically
wrong in our economic order. The same causes which bring
about the unspeakable poverty and misery of the masses are
also responsible for the large scale massacre of human beings and
the irrecoverable destruction of property that is going on today.
While our immediate task is to provide security for the poor against
hazards, our main concern should be to bring about a new social
order which will ensure not only the creation of wealth but even
more its better distribution, thus eliminating poverty and usher-
ing in peace and goodwill among men.

233

APPENDIX

Approximate Personnel and Expenditure of the (I) Shelter, (2) Industrial
Home, (8) Infirmary and Asylum and (4) Work House or Penitentiary. It is
difficult to give an exact idea of the personnel of a new institution and the
expenditure that may have to be incurred on its maintenance, and the dif-
ficulty of even an approximate guess increases when the institution con-
templated is of a complex nature with an indefinite number of inmates,
some of whom may remain in the institution for an indefinite period, while
others may be able to do productive work and earn a part of their keep.
We shall not, therefore, attempt any exact estimate of figures for the recurring
and non-recurring expenditure shown against each item or institution ; the
figures are given so that t||e Committee working on the execution of such
a Scheme may have a rough idea of the liabilities that would be involved.

Salary p.m.

I. (A) Personnel and Estimate of Expen- Rs.

diture for the Shelter.

(1) Supervisor- 1 ... 10tt-5-150-10~200+'C.A.Rs.25

~fFree Quarters (or Rent of
Rs. 50 p.m.).

(2) Part-time Medical Attendant ... 50

(3) Clerk-typist (at least a Matriculate) 55-4-115-5-140

(4) (a) Cook (with board & lodging) ... 30-1-40
(6) One or two Cook's mates or as-
sistants according to the num-
ber of inmates (with free board,

quarters and clothing) ... 10-J-20 each.

(After some experience of the

working of the Shelter, they

may be chosen from among the

inmates)

(5) Peon (with free quarters and cloth-
ing. May be chosen from among

the inmates) ... 25-|-3O.

(6) 2 Watchmen (Day and Night) with

free quarters and clothing ... 28-J-35 each.

1 Preferably a married man so that his wife may be helpful with regard to the female
side of the Shelter. Payment of some remuneration may be allowed to her. He may be
a qualified person from the Tata Institute of Social Sciences, Bombay. If the
Shelter is in its own building, the Supervisor may be provided with suitable quartern.
If not, he may be provided with the actual amount of rent or Rs. 50 as House Rent Allo-
wance whichever be less. If the Shelter can be located at the King George V Infirmary
and Lady Dhunbai Home, slightly modified arrangements for personnel will have to be sug-
gested.

255

APPENDIX I

(7) 2 Sweepers (with free quarters, cloth-
ing and board. May be chosen from

among the inmates) l ... 10-J-20 each

(8) 3 Arresting Agents ... 40 each -f clothing.

541-785.*

Over and above these expenses of personnel, there will be other recurring
and non-recurring expenses at the Shelter. The figures may be taken as
approximate :

Non-recurring Recurring
initial expenditure Annual

expenditure.
Rs. Rs.

(1) Rent of the Building at Rs. 150-200

p.m. (if one has to be hired) 1 ,800-2,400

(2) Food for the inmates at Rs. 15/- p.m.
per person at the present time and
Rs. 8/- p.m. per person in normal
times. Counting an average daily
attendance of 30 inmates Rs. 300

to 600 p.m. 2,880-5,400.

(26) Clothing for the inmates 500-at
Rs. 12 per person shirt, shorts and
forage or other cap for men ; Sari,
skirt, blouse for women <,000

(3) Clothing for the peon, 2 watchmen,
2 cook's mates (2 coats, 2 pairs of
pants or trousers, buttons, 1 forage
cap, each p.a., and 1 belt and 1
puttee extra every 2 years to each

watchman and to 3 Arresting Agents) 275

(4) Stationery 200

(5) Photographic records (1,200 persons

p.a.) ... 000

(6) Sundries like Telephone (Govt. to be
requested to provide free), Electri-
city, etc. 500

(7) Furniture for Office and Dormitories ")

(8) Utensils for cooking and serving ... }> 2,000.

(9) Chattais, Mattresses, a few cots forj
the sick, etc.

Provident Fund for the employees

about 416-060.

2,000. 12,971-16,835.

Add Salaries at Us. 541-785 p.m 6,492- 9,420.

Total annual expenditure for the

Shelter ... 19,463-25,755.

(B) Contribution for about 50 inmates to the King George V Memorial
Infirmary. @ 0-10-0 to 0*12-0 per day per person. Rs. 14,000

1 Free quarters will have to be given to all the employees if the Industrial Home in
situate outside the City.

* Dearneas allowance will have to be paid to most of the regular salaried staff for the
duration of the war and some time after.

286

APPENDIX I

II. Personnel and approximate expenditure for the Industrial Home.
The following personnel is suggested for the Home :

( 1 ) Guardian Superintendent

(2) Assistant Guardian Superintendent
(preferably a Graduate of the Tata
Institute Same as Shelter Su-
pervisor May be employed a little
after the number of inmates begins
to increase)

(3)
(4)

(7)

(8)

(9)
(10)
(11)

(12)
(13)
(14)

(15)

Textile teacher

Stenographer-clerk (at least a
Matriculate)

Clerk-typist (at least a Matriculate.
May be employed later when inmates
increase. One of these must know
First Aid)

Accounts and Stores Clerk
Store -keeper (may be employed later
when the number of inmates in-
creases)

Part-time Medical Attendant Rs. 75
p.m.

Honorary Psychiatrisli... Honorarium
Assistant Psychiatrist
3 Wards or Guards (Both for super-
vision and bringing persons from the
Shelter to the Industrial Home) ...

30O-45-450-20-500 p.m. -f 50
C.A. (F.Q.)

100~5-150-l()~200-f20 C.A.

, < F -

75-5-150

75-4-115-5-160.

55^-1 15-5-im
55-4-115-5-140

55-4-115-5-140

50-100 (i.e.,(*00-200~l,200p.a.)
150-10-250.

30-J-35 each (F.Q. & Clothing
at Rs. 25 p. a. each).
25-4-30 each do.

28-|-35 each do.

35-1-45 (F.Q. and Board).

2 Peons

2 Watchmen (Day and Night)

1 Cook for first 50 persons,.and more
to be employed gradually as num-
bers increase

(for 100 to 150 inmates, 2) 1

(for 160 to 225 inmates, 3) ... ^-30-1-40 each (F.Q. and Board).

(for 250 and over 4) J

(Some may be trained from among

the inmates in which case a lower

scale of salary may be paid)

2 Cook's mates or assistants upto
100 persons

(3 cook's mates upto 110 to ISO']

persons)

(4 cook's mates upto 160 to 200

persons)

(5 cook's mates upto 210 to 300

persons)

(may be chosen mostly from among

the inmates)

15-2-20 each (F.Q., Board and
Clothing).

each (FQ., Board and
Clothing).

1 May be even a retired official with some administrative experience. A married
man may be preferred so that the wife can help on the female side of the work on payment
of some remuneration.

287

APPENDIX I

(16) 1 Bearer to teach the work of a
** Bearer to suitable inmates

(17) 5 Sweepers (may be chosen from
among the inmates)

(18) 1 Barber

(19) 1 Mistry or Carpenter

(20) 5Dhobies

(21 ) 2 Mails (others to learn and assist on
small remuneration)

Total Rs, ...

2 @ 15-J-20 each

3 10-J-20
30-1-40.
00-3-75.

do.

do.
do.

2 30 each.

1 @ 25 each.

2 (j 15 each, (from among the

inmates).

25-f-35 each (F.Q. and Clothing)

1,661-2,680 p.m. or
19,932-32,160 p.a.

(la)

(16)

(2)
(3)

(6)

(7)
(8)

Other Recurring Expenditure Approximate annual

Expenditure Rs.

Food for the inmates at the rate of Rs. 20 per
person now and Rs. 10 per person in normal times,
beginning with 50 and ultimately catering for 300
persons. (Slightly higher cost as the inmates will
be doing manual labour and transport charges will
have to be added). Now for 50 to 300 inmates
per day. ... 12,000-72,000.

(Normally for 50 to 300 inmates per
day 6,000-36,000) l

Clothing for about 700 persons @ Rs. 12 per
person p.a. ... 8,400.

Taxes, water charges, etc.

Clothing for 15 to 20 employees @ Rs. 25 per
person p.a. ... 375-500.

Stationery ... 600.

Sundries like Telephone (Govt. to be requested
to instal free), lighting, phenyle or disinfectants,
etc. ... 600.

Medicines, etc. ... 300.

Provision for Provident Fund Contribution ... 1,466-2,435.
Raw Materials (Cotton, yarn, seeds, etc).

Non-Recurring Expenditure

Total ... 23,741-84,835.

Approximate
Expenditure Rs.

(1) Structures : I would suggest that the per capita
expenditure for living accommodation should be
kept within Rs. 50 to 100. The same standard or
less may be kept for the industrial sheds for 300
persons. (To be erected, of course, gradually as

1 As against these expenses of maintenance of the able-bodied inmates, there will
be some income accruing from their work at the Home or earnings from outside as soon as
they are employed on productive work after training. This may be roughly estimated at
least at about Rs. 80,000 p.a.

288

APPENDIX I

need arises, though the planning may be done with
a view to provide for 800 inmates and land may be
reserved for further expansion as found necessary).
(Each Chembur Shed has cost about Rs. 700
and can accommodate from 60 to 75 inmates,
the per capita cost being Rs. 10 to 12) ... 30,000~-60,OQO.

(2) Furniture, utensils, chattais, mattresses, cots,,
medical accessories, Accident or First Aid Kit,
etc. (Rs. 1,000 for 50, Rs. 6,000 for 300)

(3) Industrial equipment for 50 to 300 persons
<4) Quarters for 7 officers and clerks

(5) Quarters for 15 to 20 inferior staff

Total Recurring Annual Expenditure Rs. . . .
and Non-Recurring Expenditure for the
Industrial Home . . . Rs. . . .

1,000-6,000.

3,000-12,000.

28,000-25,000.

3,000-5,000.

60,000-1,08,000.
43,673-1,16,995.

60,000-1,08,000.

Ml. Personnel and approximate expenditure of the Asylum and Infirmary.

The expenses are roughly estimated as follows :

Annual
Recurring

Non-recurring
Rs.

Rs.

<1) Housing 1 for the aged and infirm @

Rs. 100 per person foV 300 persons

in the initial stages (to be provided

by stages for 50 or 100 at a time) ... 30,000.
(2) Feeding @ Rs. 15 per person now

and Rs. 8 per person in normal times 28,800-54,000.

<3) Clothing @ Rs. 20 per person per

annum 6,000.

(4-) Medicines, etc. @ Re. 1 per person

per month on an average ... 3,600.

Additional Personnel for the Asylum and Infirmary

(5) (a) Medical Attendant same as for

Industrial Home, Rs.75-100p.m. 900-1,200.

(6) 1 Matron @ Rs. 100-10-200 p.m.

+ Rs. 15 p.m. Uniform Allowance 1,380-2,580.

-{- Rs. 10 p.m. Uniform Allowance 1 ,440-2,640.

(6) Attendants, Ayahs, Ward Boys,
Sweepers to be drafted from among
the able-bodied inmates of the In-
dustrial Home already provided for.
If extra Rs. 5 p.m. is given them

for about 30 such employees 1 ,800.

(7) 1 Barber @ 80-1-40 p.m. 360-480.

(8) 2 Dhobies @ Rs. 30 each p.m. ... 720.

(9) 2 Compounders @ Rs. 40-2-60 + 960-1,440.

F.Q.

1 I would propose a cheaper structure with a brick wall about 4 feet high from the
ground, topped with bamboo matting wall upto the roof, a plinth of 1} ft< height, a Shahbad
stone-paved flooring, asbestos sheet roofling and ordinary cots and mattresses to sleep on.
To start with, the sheds at the Chembur Evacuation Camp will also serve the purpose.

289

APP&MDIK

( 10) Provision for Provident Fund 370-620.

(11) Quarters for Matron and Nurses . . , 7,000 ......

Total Rs. ... 87,000 46,380-75,080.

(The same supervisory, clerical and
culinary staff as of the Industrial
Home will suffice for this Asylum and
Infirmary also at least for a year or
two).

IV. Personnel and approximate expenditure of tfte Work-Home or
Penitentiary.

The expenses are roughly estimated as follows :

(1)

(2)

(3)
(4)
(5)

Annual
Non -recurring Recurring

Rs. Rs.

Quartern for about 20 to 25 inmates
to start with and provision to be
kept for about 50 according to in-
creasing need @ Rs. 100 per person 2,500-5,000.
Feeding ' (25) @ Rs. 10 p.m. (Will

come in after about 2 years) 3,000.

Clothing (25) @ Rs. 20 p.a. 500.

Medicines, lighting, sundries, etc 500.

Warden 75-5-125 p.m. Free Quarters 3,000. 900-1,500.

2 Guards 30-i~-40 p.m. each, Free

Quarters ... 00. 720-960.

Provision for Provident Fund 18&-205.

Total Rs.

6,800-8,800.

5,755-6,665.

APPENDIX
ii

Further possibilities of employment of the able-bodied at Chern-
bur. Dairying and Agri-Horticultural industries. We have stat-
ed in paragraph that it would be somewhat difficult and hazard-
ous at the commencement of our Scheme to try to found agri-
horticultural colonies in outlying, undeveloped parts of the pro-
vince with a highly handicapped population such as of beggars.
However, if the Industrial Home for rehabilitating beggars is
located at the Evacuation Camp at Chembur, after a year or
two, there will be very good possibilities of starting DAIRYING
and AGRI-HORTICULTURAL INDUSTRIES there with the
help of the able-bodied healthy inmates.

1 These persons should be able to produce some portion of their own food mid cloth-
ing by working on the farm, dairy or -weaving looms.

240

APPENDIX II

There is a large tract of land adjoining the Camp and suf-
ficient land therefrom can be made available to ferect 1 to 5
stables accommodating 200 buffaloes each with the necessary
washing places, troughs, milking sheds, store-room for fodder
and shed for hay, dung receptacles, sheds for calves and quar-
ters for milkmen, herdsmen, sweepers and others. There is an
excellent market for milk in the City within easy reach of Chem-
bur and fresh milk can be despatched in vans to the City twice
a day. There being fairly large grazing areas in the neighbour-
hood on the island itself, the dry buffaloes need not bfe sent out
and new buffaloes in lactation bought every year, as the buffaloes
can be covered by good stud bulls kept for the purpose at the
Dairy Farm itself, thus rendering the production of milk ; at a
cheaper rate possible. Water, which will be required in large
quantities, can be had from more wells dug for the purpose as
well as from the tappings of the Tulsi and Vihar Mains.

Vegetables can be |frown in the same adjoining land
and cow-dung cake manure easily available on the Dairy Farm
will be very useful for intensive cultivation. Further plots
of land of fairly good fertility are available as for instance
with the Bombay Municipality at Deonar and a por-
tion of this can be used both for growing cereal crops
and vegetables, in which case the Municipal Scheme of
supplying sewage effluent from the Dadar Purification
Works to agriculturists at Chembur can be expedited
and may prove very useful to the Home as well as profitable
to the Municipality. Fairly extensive grasslands are also to
be found on the island hills and flats and in the neighbouring
district and they can serve both as pastures and fodder supply
areas. Green fodder can also be raised for the buffaloes on the
farms. The milk can find a ready market in Government and
Municipal 'Hospitals, Maternity Homes and other institutions,
and one feels the produce of 1,000 milch cattle will not be dif-
ficult to dispose of.

For every stable of 200 cattle about 80 persons of in-
ferior cadre can be easily employed as milkmen, attendants,
herdsmen, sweepers, cleaners, labourers and other such staff,

241

APPENDIX 1]

whereas drivers dairymen, supervising staff and some milk-mei
at first may have to be engaged from outside.

Approximate Expenditure. The initial cost of livestock,
sheds, store-room, utensils, van or truck, etc., for a unit of 20(1
milch cattle will be approximately Rs. 30,000, the salaries of the
experts and supervisory staff may come to about Rs. 500 p.m.
and the cost of fodder to about Rs, 4,500, to 6,000 p.m., where-
as the wages of inferior labour staff will vary from Rs. 450 to
750 p.m. according as a smaller or larger number of the inmates
of the Industrial Home is employed for the purpose. Details
of the personnel required and the estimates of expenditure can
be obtained when required. One very important point, how-
ever, about the dairy industry is that while there is a certain
amount of risk in case the cattle catch some infectious disease,
there is the possibility of income from the very moment the in-
dustry is started and fair prospects of profit if it is run well, be-
cause of the very good market for milk provided by the City.
The Dairy will further help in slightly increasing the milk supply
of the City which is so notoriously deficient and dear. Five
stables of 200 cattle, each started one after another as experience
is gained, will, besides, engage about 150 to 200 of the inmates
in dairying alone in due course, whereas the ancillary agri-hor-
ticultural operations may absorb an equal number of men and
women in course of time. Both these are, moreover, primary
producing industries dependent on each other and staple indus-
tries of the country at that. From the prospects of employ-
ment elsewhere of the workers in similar institutions, they will
afford excellent training grounds at the Industrial Home for the
inmates. The inmates may further be able to produce some of
the primary necessaries of life for their own use. The Indus-
trial Home or what may become an Agrivo-lndustrial Colony
will thus come to be founded in due course on a fairly solid
foundation of key industries for its existence on what may
become and should at least be aimed at as a self -supporting basis
with regard to the production of food, dothing and shelter.

APPENDIX
in

Cost of a systematic and scientific handling of a social malady
cheaper than its relief by unorganised charity. Ii* the
history of the attempt to solve the Beggar Problem in
the City of Bombay as well as in other places in India, the bogey
of numbers and cost has always frightened the protagonists of
anti-beggar legislation. We shall show by a few facts and figures
given below that a systematic and scientific handling of the
problem of beggary is not as costly as it is usually imagined in
the absence of reliable data and is certainly almost always less
costly in the long run to society at large than the amount of
money antl effort involved and almost wasted through de-
sultory, scattered and unorganised charity. This is no place to
enter upon a long dissertation on the subject. We will there-
fore content ourselves with a few facts and figures.

The first important .point to remember in this connection
is that all beggars are not so by force of circumstances or helpless
destitution. Almost half or more than half in every group
of beggars may be so by choice. It pays them better to beg
than to live by honest work for, sometimes, honest work in our
present social structure is not as remunerative as begging.
Secondly, a fair number amongst the professional beggars consists
of able-bodied men, women and children. Thirdly, some of the
defective, disabled and diseased beggars are traded in by relatives,
who can afford to support them. Fourthly, the wives or women
and children of a goodly number of male bread-earners take to
the profession of begging because they have no established homes,
have plenty of leisure and can add to the family income by easy
money. A number of peasants and landless labourers seem to
migrate to the city during the off season presumably in search
of work but end up by taking to begging in streets. There are
a few amongst the beggars who are casually employed and an-
other few,, who, while fully employed, take to begging during
iiesure hours and on Sundays and holidays, beeause they have
found by experience that they can earn a few extra rupees with-
out much ado by trading on their wits. These different classes

243

APPENDIX III

taking to begging in a vast arid crowded city through different
motives, form a substantially large portion of its beggar popu-
lation. As soon as legislation for the prevention of beggary is
introduced in a certain area and its provisions strictly enforced,
these classes of beggars almost vanish in no time. This has
been the experience in various cities in India and outside where
the experiment has been tried, sometimes leaving an incredibly
low figure of the destitute to be admitted to the home, asylum
or work-house established for the purpose.

Bearing the above in mind, Jet us now take the numbers
of secular beggars in the city of Bombay at 5,000 and that on
an average the numerous charity trusts, appropriate institutions
and the philanthropic general public spend annas 8 per day
per person, though several beggars in various cities of India
have been known to earn from annas 12 to Rs. 3 and 5 per day,
when their day is luckier or their beggar bowl fuller. On this
modest scale of Rs. 15 per month per person, the pious gentry
of Bombay may be spending on the 5,000 beggars a princely
sum of Rs. 9 lacs per annum.

Let us on a conservative estimate put the figures of the
various types of beggars described above, who will make them-
selves scarce on the introduction and enforcement of beggar
legislation, at 50% in which case about 1,000 able-bodied and
1,500 defective and disabled may be left in the city for us to tackle,
though 2,500 is rather a high estimate. At the rates of main-
tenance prevailing in various similar domiciliary institutions
in the city and the mofussil at present as well as before the war,
we may have to spend on an average Rs. 10 p.m. per person on
the 1,000 able-bodied and Rs. 15 p.m. on the 1,500 infirm and
defective. The^cost on the 2,500 would amount to Rs. 82,500
p.m. or about Rs. 4 lacs per annum, which is certainly much
less than Rs. 9 lacs spent aimlessly by indiscriminate charity
with all the evil consequences of idling, malingering, spreading
of disease, nuisance to the general populace, bad example to
the children, etc* Calculating this cost of Rs. 4 lacs per annum
on about 5 lacs of bread-winners in the city with a population

244

APPENDIX III

of about 15 lacs, the cost of a systematic and scientific handl-
ing of this grave social malady would come to As. 12 or Be. 1
per annum. ,

Taking the pppulation of 61,000 beggars in the Province
of Bombay with a total Population of about 2 crores and suppos-
ing As. 4 or 8 per day per person were spent by charity endow-
ments and other philanthropic public to maintain them, the
cost to the commuiiity would amount to Rs. 54 or 108 lac* a
year on their haphazard, wasteful and almost fruitless main-
tenance. If we take half of these or 30,000 to be rehabilitated
on a systematic basis and there are 15,000 ablebodied and 15,000
handicappel beggars, at the rate of Rs. 10/- p.m. per person
for the able-bodied and Rs. 15 p.m. for the handicapped, the
annual expenditure would amount to about Rs. (18 4-27=)
45 lacs per annum and society would reap the benefits that ac-
crue from a systematic and scientific solution of the problem.
If this expense were spread over 50 lacs of bread-winners or
families in the province, the per family cost would come to
As. 14 to Re, 1 per annum, not to mention the fact that a very
large number of superior and inferior staff would be employed
usefully and gainfully in the useful work of rehabilitating a
large number of the handicapped and demoralised section of the
body politic.

Taking the beggar population of India of about 14 lacs as
per the census of 1931, the cost to the country at As. 4 or 8 per
day per person would amount toRs. 12 or 25 J crores per annum ;
whereas on our usual calculations as bove, the maintenance of
3^ lacs of able-bodied and 3| lacs of defective and disabled per-
sons at Rs. 10 and 15 p.m. per person respectively would cost
the country (4.20+6.30)=1&. 10| crores. Taking about 8
crores of bread-winners out of a population of 33-J crores, the
incidence of cost per family would come to Re. 1-4-0 per annum
and about 70,000 persons would be gainfully employed as super-
ior and inferior supervisory and welfare staff on an average
salary of more than Rs. 40/- per month, getting Rs. 8j crores
per annum in wages, which may also solve a part of our problem
of educated unemployment.

245

APPENDIX III

isesiaes, a majority 01 me aoie-Doaiea oeggars may be able
to earn their keep after a training of 8 to 6 months or a year
in an appropriate institution. We have not calculated the
earnings of such persons through skilled or unskilled labour
while calculating the above expenditure, and even some of the
handicapped population may be able to do some productive
work and contribute towards their maintenance. What is even
more important from a long-range view of social health
and amelioration is that the insane, feeble-minded, those suffer-
ing from commuhicable or hereditary diseases and a large num-
ber of such other physically undesirable may be prevented from
multiplying their kihd and increasing their share of burden on
society.

Further, towards the above expenditure on institutional
relief to the beggars, several existing Trusts, Endowments, and
Domiciliary Institutions will be able to contribute their quota
and the cost to the public and to the State treasury will not be
so large. In fact in the Province of Bombay, there were in
1920 about 349 1 such institutions sheltering and feeding about
4,035 beggars per day at a cost of Rs. 3,95,801 per annum, where-
as in the City of Bombay, the few known special charity endow-
ments for the specific purpose were feeding about 300 persons
per day at an annual expenditure of Rs. 27,834^.

1 The list is incomplete.

2 See Sethna Committee Report, Appendix 5, p. 43.

246

BEGGAR LEGISLATION IN INDIA

APPENDIX

PART I

Bengal Vagrancy Act 1943
PART III Acts of the Bengal Legislature.

GOVERNMENT OF BENGAL LEGISLATIVE DEPARTMENT
NOTIFICATION

No. 986-L. 23rd October, 1943. The following Act of
the Bengal Legislature, having been assented to in His Majesty's
name by the Governor, i thereby published for general informa-
tion :

CONTENTS
Chapter I

PRELIMINARY
Section

1 Short title, extent and commencement.
Definitions.

Vagrancy Advisory Board.

Appointment of Controller of Vagrancy and his assistants.

Special Magistrates.

Chapter II
PROCEDURE

(i. Power to Require apparent vagrant to appear before Special Magistrate.

7. Summary inquiry in respect of apparent vagrant and declaration of

person to be a vagrant by Special Magistrate.

K. Detention in receiving centre and medical examination of vagrant.

0. Procedure for sending vagrant to vagrants' home.

10. Externment of vagrant from area in which Act is in force.

11. Validity of custody and detention of vagrant.

Chapter III

RECEIVING CENTRES AND VAGRANTS* HOME

12. Provision of receiving centres.
Itf . Provision of vagrants' homes.

14. Search of vagrants.

15. Management and discipline.

1C, Transfer of vagrants from one vagrants' home to another.

247

APPENDIX IV

17. Outside employment to be obtained for vagrants when possible.

18. Discharge of vagrants from vagrants 1 home.

Chapter IV

PENALTIES AND MISCELLANEOUS

10. Punishment for employing or causing person to ask for alms.

20. Punishment for refusing to goT>efore Ik Special Magistrate.

21. Punishment for refusing to submit to medical examination at receiving

centre.

22. Punishment for escape from receiving centre or vagrants* home.

23. Procedure at end of imprisonment.

24. Prosecution and jurisdiction to try offenders.

25. Persons to be deemed public servants.

26. Indemnity.

27. Repeal.

28. Power to make rules.

29. Continuance of action taken under Bengal Ordinance II of 1943.

BENGAL ACT VII OF 1943
The Bengal Vagrancy Act, 1943

(Passed by tlie Bengal Lagislature)

[Assent of the Governor was first published in the Calcutta Gazette
Extraordinary of the 25th October 1943.]

An Act to provide for dealing with vagrancy in Bengal.

WHEREAS it is expedient to make provision for dealing with
vagrancy in Bengal ;

It is hereby enacted as follows :

CHAPTER I
Preliminary

1. Short title, extent and commencement: (1) This Act may
be called the Bengal Vagrancy Act, 1948.

(2) It extends to the whole of Bengal.

(3) It shall come into force in Calcutta at once and in such
other areas on such other dates as the Provincial Government
may, by notification in the Official Gazette^ direct.

2. Definitions : In this Act, unless there is anything
repugnant in the subject or context,

(1) "Board" means the Vagrancy Advisory Board estab-
lished under sub-section (1) of section 3 ;

248

APPENDIX IV

(2) "Calcutta" means the town of Calcutta as defined in
section 3 of the Calcutta Police Act, 1866. Ben. Act IV
of 1866, tdgether with the suburbs of Calcutta as de-
fined by notification under section 1 of the Calcutta
Suburban Police Act, 1866 Ben. Act It of 1866 ;

(8) " child " means a, person under the age of fourteen
years ;

(4) " Controller " means the Controller of Vagrancy appoint-
ed under sub-section (1) of section 4 ;

(5) ''person of European extraction " has the same
meaning as in the European Vagrancy Act, 1874

JX of 1874;

(6) " prescribed " means prescribed by rules made under
this Act ;

(7) " receiving centre " means a house or institution for
the reception and temporary detention of vagrants,
provided by thV Provincial Government or certified
as such under sub-section (1) of section 12;

(8) " Special Magistrate " means a Magistrate empowered
to act as such under section 5 ;

(9) "vagrant" means a person not being of European
extraction found asking for alms in any public place,
or wandering about or remaining in any public place in
such condition or manner as makes it likely that such
person exists by asking for alms but does not include
a person collecting money or asking for food or gift
for a prescribed purpose;

(10) " vagrants' home " means an institution provided by
the Provincial Government under sub-section (1) of
section 13 for the permanent detention of vagrants.
3. Vagrancy Advisory Board: (1) The Provincial Govern-
ment as soon as possible after the commencement of this Act
shall establish a Board to be called the Vagrancy Advisory Board.

(2) The Board shall be

constituted in the manner prescribed, subject to the condition
that the number of the members of the Board shall not be
less than ten.

249

APPENBIX IV

(8) The function of the Board shall be

to advise the Provincial Government on all matters relating
to the control of vagrancy and in particular on the adminis-
tration of this Act and for the aforementioned purposes any
member of the Board may enter and inspect at any time any
receiving centre or vagrants' home.

(4) The Board may, with the previous

approval of the Provincial Government, make regulations to
provide for,

(a) the times and places at which its meetings shall be

held ;

(6) the issue of notices concerning such meetings ; and
(c) the conduct of business thereat.

4. Appointment of Controller of Vagrancy and his assistants:

(1) For carrying out the purposes of

this Act the Provincial Government may appoint a person to
be Controller of Vagrancy together with such other persons to
assist him as it thinks fit.

(2) Persons appointed under sub-section

(1) shall exercise such powers as may be conferred and perform
such functions as may be required by or under this Act.

5. Special Magistrates : For the purposes of Chapter II
of this Act the Provincial Government may empower any Pre-
sidency Magistrate in Calcutta and any Magistrate of the first
class elsewhere to act as a Special Magistrate.

CHAPTER II
Procedure

6. Power to require apparent vagrant to appear before Special
Magistrate : Any police officer authorised in this behalf by the
Commissioner of Police in Calcutta and by the District Magis-
trate elsewhere may require any person who is apparently a
vagrant to accompany him or any other police officer to, and to
appear before, a Special Magistrate.

7. Summary inquiry in respect of apparent vagrant and
declaration of person to be a vagrant by Special Magistrate :

250

APPENDIX IV

(1) When a person is brought before a Special Magistrate
under section 6, such Special Magistrate shall make a summary
inquiry in the prescribed manner into the circumstances
and character of such person, and if, after hearing anything
which such person may wish to say he is satisfied that
such person is a vagrant, he shall record a declaration to this
effect and the provisions of this Act relating to vagrants shall
thereupon apply to such peron.

(2) If on making the summary inquiry referred to in sub-
section (1) the Special Magistrate is not satisfied that the person
brought before him under section 6 is a vagrant such person
shall forthwith be released.

(3) A Special Magistrate recording a declaration under
sub-section (1) that a person is a vagrant shall forthwith send
a certified copy of such declaration to the Controller, and to the
offieer-in-charge of the receiving centre to which such vagrant
is sent under sub-sectiofe (!) of section 8.

8. Detention in receiving centre and medical examination
of vagrant: (1) When a person has been declared to be a vagrant
under sub-section (1) of section 7 he shall forthwith be sent in
the manner prescribed to the nearest receiving centre and there
handed over to the custody of the office r-in-charge of such re-
ceiving centre, and such vagrant shall be detained in such re-
ceiving centre until he is sent therefrom to a vagrants' home
under sub-section (1) of section 9.

(2) As soon as possible after the commencement of the
detention of a vagrant in a receiving centre the medical officer
of such receiving centre shall with suc'h medical help as may
be necessary medically examine the vagrant in the manner
prescribed as quickly as is consistent with the circumstances
of the case and shall thereupon furnish the offlcer-in-charge
of the receiving centre with a medical report regarding the health
and bodily condition of the vagrant.

(8) The medical report referred to in sub-section (2) shall
state inter alia,

(a) the sex and age of the vagrant ;

(6) whether the vagrant is a leper ;

251

APPENDIX IV

(?) flpom what, if any, communicable diseases other than
leprosy the vagrant is suffering;

(d) whether the vagrant is insane or mentally deficient ;

(e) what is the general state of health and bodily condition
of the vagrant and for which, if any, of the prescribed
types of work he is fit.

9. Procedure for sending vagrant to vagrants 1 home:

(1) On receipt of the medical report referred to in sub-
section (2) of section 8 the officer-in-charge of a receiving cen-
tre shall, as soon as the necessary arrangements can be made,
send the vagrant in the prescribed manner to such vagrants' home
as the Controller may by general or special order in this behalf
direct, and the said officer-in-charge shall along with such vagrant
send to the Manager of the said vagrants' home,

(a) the certified copy of the declaration made under sub-
section (1) of section 7 relating to such vagrant which
is to be sent to such officer-in-charge under sub-section
(8) of the said section, and

(b) the said medical report.

(2) When a vagrant is sent to a vagrants' home under
the provisions of sub-section (1) he shall be handed over to the
custody of the Manager of such vagrants' home and shall be de-
tained therein, or in a vagrants' home to which he may be trans-
ferred under section 16, until duly discharged therefrom under
section 18.

(3) In issuing any order under sub-section (1) the Con-
troller shall ensure that the following classes of vagrants,
namely,

(a) lepers,

(b) the insane or mentally deficient,

(0) those suffering from communicable diseases other than
leprosy,

(d) children,

are segregated from each other and from vagrants who do not
belong to any of the aforementioned classes and shall also ensure
that the male vagrants are segregated from the female vagrants :

252

APPENDIX IV

Provided that the provisions of this sub-section in respect
of children may be relaxed as prescribed.

10. Eotternment of vagrant from area in which the Act is
in force : (1) If after an inquiry made under sub-section (1)
of section 7 the Special Magistrate is satisfied that the person
brought before him under section 6 is a vagrant but, in the course
of such inquiry, it has appeared that the vagrant was not born
in the area in which this Act is in force or has not been conti-
nuously resident therein for more than one year, the Special
Magistrate, after making such further inquiry, if any, as he may
deem necessary, may by order in writing direct the said vagrant
to leave the said area within such time and by such route or
routes as k&ay be stated in the order and not to return thereto
without the permission in writing of the Controller, and in such
case, notwithstanding anything contained in sub-section (1)
of section 7, the provisions of sections 8 and 9 shall not apply
to such vagrant : ^

Provided that if the Special Magistrate deems it necessary
to make any further inquiry as aforesaid in respect of such vagrant,
the vagrant shall be detained pending conclusion of the said
inquiry in such receiving centre as the Controller may by general
or special order in this behalf direct and for this purpose shall be
sent thereto in the manner -prescribed and there handed over
to the custody of the officer-in-charge of such receiving centre,
and shall, while he is so detained, be subject to the rules of manage-
ment and discipline referred to in sub-section (1) of section 15.

(2) The Controller shall not give the permission referred
to in sub-section (1) unless, if the vagrant had been detained
in a vagrants' home, such vagrant would have been eligible
to have been discharged therefrom under the provisions of sub*
section (1) of section 18.

(3) When a vagrant against whom an order has been made
under sub-section (1) fails to comply with such order within the
time specified therein, or after complying with the said order
returns without the permission in writing of the Controller to
any place within the area referred to in the said order, such
vagrant may be arrested without a warrant by any police officer

255

APPENDIX IT

and shall be liable, on conviction before a Magistrate, to be
punished with rigorous imprisonment for a term which may
extend to six months.

11. Validity of custody and detention of vagrant : A declara-
tion that a person is a vagrant recorded by a Special Magistrate
under sub-section (1) of section 7 shall be sufficient authority
to any person to retain such vagrant in his custody when such
person is under the provisions of this Act or of any rule made
thereunder conveying a vagrant from the Court of a Special
Magistrate to a receiving centre or, from a receiving centre to
a vagrants' home or from one vagrants' home to another and to
the officer-in-charge of a receiving centre and to the Manager of
a vagrants' home for detaining such vagrant in accordance with
the provisions of this Act in a receiving centre of vagrants' home,
as the case may be.

CHAPTER III
Receiving centres and vagrants 9 home

12. Provision of receiving centres : (1) The Provincial
Government may provide and maintain together with the neces-
sary furniture and establishment one or more receiving centres
at such place or places as it thinks fit, or may certify by noti-
fication in the Official Gazette any existing charitable or other
institution, subject to the prior consent of the controlling autho-
rity of such institution and on such conditions as may be mutually
agreed upon between the Provincial Government and the said
authority, to be a receiving centre for the purposes of this Act.

(2) For the purposes

of this Act every receiving centre shall be under the immediate
control of an officer-in-charge who shall be appointed by the
Provincial Government and who shall perform his functions
subject to the orders of the Controller*

(8) The Provincial

Government shall also appoint for 1 every Deceiving centre one or
more suitably qualified persons as medical officers,

IS, Provision of vagrants' homes : (I) The Provincial Gov-
ernment may provide and maintain together with the necessary

25*

APPENDIX IV

furniture, equipment and establishment, one or more vagrants'
homes at such place or places as it thinks fit and such vagrants'
homes may include provision for the teaching of agricultural,
industrial or other pursuits and for the general education and
medical care of the inmates.

(2) Every such vagrants'

home shall be under the immediate charge of a Manager who
shall be appointed by the Provincial Government and who shall
perform his functions subject to the orders of the Controller.

(3) The Provincial Go-
vernment may appoint in respect of a vagrants' home a suit-
ably qualified person as medical officer and one or more suitably
qualified persons as teachers.

14. Search of vagrants : Every officer-in-charge of a re-
ceiving centre or Manager of a vagrants' home may order that
any vagrant detained in s^ch receiving centre or vagrants' home
shall be searched and that the personal effects of such vagrant
shall be inspected and any money then found with or on the vagrant
shall be applied in the manner prescribed towards the welfare
of vagrants and any of such effects other than money may be
sold in auction and the proceeds of the sale shall be applied as
aforesaid :

Provided that a female vagrant shall be searched by a female
only and with due regard to decency.

15. Management and discipline : (1) Vagrants detained
in receiving centres or vagrants 5 homes under this Act shall be
subject to such rules of management and discipline as may from
time to time be prescribed.

Explanation. Discipline includes the enforcement of the doing of manual
or other work by a vagrant.

(2) If any vagrant wilfully disobeys or neglects to comply
with any rule referred to in sub-section (1) he shall on conviction
before a Magistrate be liable to be punishad with rigorous im-
prisonment for a term which may extend to three months.

(8) The Provincial Government may authorise the Manager
of a vagrants' home to punish any vagrant detained in such
vagrants' home who wilfully disobeys or neglects to comply

255

APPENDIX IV

with any rule referred to in sub-section (1) with hard labour of
the type prescribed for any period not exceeding seven days ;
and such punishment may be in lieu of or in addition to any
punishment to which the vagrant may be liable under sub-
section (2). .

16. Transfer of vagrants from one vagrants' home to another :
The Controller may by order in writing direct the transfer of
a vagrant from one vagrants' home to another and a vagrant
in respect of whom such an order is passed shall thereupon be
sent in the manner prescribed to, and handed over to the custody
of, the Manager of the vagrants' home to which he has by such
order been transferred.

17. Outside employment to be obtained for vagrants when
possible : The Manager of a vagrants' home shall use his best
endeavours to obtain outside the vagrants' home suitable em-
ployment for vagrants detained therein.

18. Discharge of vagrants from vagrants^ home : (1) A
vagrant may be discharged from a vagrants' home under orders
of the Controller,

(a) on the Manager of such vagrants' home certifying in
the prescribed manner that satisfactory employment
has been obtained for such vagrant ;

(b) on its being shown to the satisfaction of the Controller
that such vagrant has become possessed of an income
sufficient to enable him to support himself without
resorting to vagrancy ;

(c) on a relative of such vagrant, or a person who the Con-
troller is satisfied is interested in the welfare of such
vagrant, entering into a bond with or without sureties
for a sum prescribed, to look after and maintain such
vagrant and to prevent him from resorting to vagrancy ;

(d) for other good and sufficient reasons to be recorded by
the Controller in writing.

(2) When the employment referred to in clause (a) of sub-
section (1) has been obtained for a vagrant, any such vagrant
refusing or neglecting to avail himself thereof shall be liable

APPENDIX IV

to be punished on conviction before a Magistrate, with rigorous
imprisonment for a term which may extend to one month.

CHAPTER IV
Penalties and Miscellaneous

19. Punishment for employing or causing persons to ask
for alms : Whoever employs or causes any person to ask for

alms, or abets the employment or the causing of a person to
ask for alms, or whoever, having the custody, charge, or care
of a child, connives at or encourages the employment or the
causing of a child to ask for alms shall be liable to be punished
on conviction before a Magistrate with rigorous imprisonment
for a terra which may extend to two years or with fine or with
both.

20. Punishment for wtfusing to go before a Special Magistrate :
Any person refusing or failing to accompany a police officer to,
or to appear before a Special Magistrate, when required by
such officer under section 6 to do so, may be arrested without
warrant, and shall be liable to be punished on conviction before
a Magistrate with rigorous imprisonment for a term which may
extend to one month or with fine, or with both.

21. Punishment for refusing to submit to medical examina-
tion at receiving centre : Any vagrant who refuses to submit to
a medical examination by the medical officer of a receiving centre
or by any person assisting such medical officer under the pro-
visions of sub-section (2) of section 8 shall be liable to be punished
on conviction before a Magistrate with rigorous imprisonment
for a term which may extend to one month.

22. Punishment for escape from receiving centre or vagrants'
Iwme : Any vagrant who escapes from any custody to which
he has been committed under this Act or any rule made there-
under or who leaves a receiving centre without the permission
of the officer-in-charge thereof, or who leaves a vagrants' home
without the permission of the Manager thereof, or who, having
with the permission of such officer-in-charge or. Manager, as
the case may be, left a receiving centre or a vagrants' home for

APPENDIX IV

a time specified under any rule referred to in sub-section (1)
of section 15, wilfully fails to return on the expiration of such
time, may be arrested without warrant and shall for every such
offence, be liable to be punished, on conviction before a Magis-
trate with rigorous imprisonment for a term which may extend
to six months.

23. Procedure at end of imprisonment : Every person im-
prisoned under the provisions of sub-section (2) of section 15.
sub-section (2) of section 18, section 20, section 21 or section 22
shall at the end of his term of imprisonment be brought under
police custody before the nearest Special Magistrate who shall
forthwith deal with such person in the manner laid down in
sections 7, 8 and 9 as if such person had been brought before
such Special Magistrate under the provisions of section 6 :

Provided that if the said Special Magistrate is of the opinion
that such person would, if detained under this Act as a vagrant
in a vagrants' home, be eligible to be discharged therefrom under
the provisions of sub-section (1) of section 18, he may, instead of
dealing with such person as aforesaid, direct that such person be
released and such person shall thereupon be set at liberty.

24. Prosecution and jurisdiction to try offenders : (1) No
prosecution for an offence under this Act may be commenced
except by, or with the permission, of such officer as may be
prescribed in this behalf.

(2) No offence under this Act shall be triable by any Magis-
trate other than a Presidency Magistrate or a Magistrate of the
first class.

25. Persons to be deemed public servants : (Act XLV of 1800)
All persons empowered to perform any function under this Act
shall be deemed to be public servants within the meaning of
section 21 of the Indian Penal Code.

26. Indemnity: No suit, prosecution or other legal pro-
ceeding shall lie against any person empowered to perfrom any
function under this Act for anything which is in good faith done
or intended to be done under this Act.

27. Repeal: (Ben. Act IV of 1866; Ben. Act. II of 1866).
Section 70A of the Calcutta Police Act, 1866, and section 40A of

APPENDIX |V

the Calcutta Suburban Police Act, 1866, are hereby repealed.
28. Power to make rides : (1) The Provincial Government
may make rules for carrying out the purposes of this Act.

(2) In particular and without

prejudice to the generality of the foregoing power, such rules
may provide for all or any of the following matters, namely :

(a) the purposes for which a person may collect money
or ask for food or gifts referred to in clause (9) of
section 2;

(b) the constitution of the Board referred to in sub-section
(2) of section 8 ;

(d) the manner in which a vagrant is to be sent to a receiving
centre under sub-section (1) of section 8 and the proviso
to sub-section (1^ of section 10 ;

(e) the manner in which a medical officer is medically to
examine a vagrant under sub-section (2) of section 8 ;

(/) the types of works for which a vagrant may be reported
fit under clause (e) of sub-section (3) of section 8 ;

(g) the manner in which a vagrant is to be sent to a vagrnats'
home under sub-section (1) of section 9 ;

(A) the manner in and the extent to which the provisions
of sub-section (3) of section 9 in respect of children
may be relaxed;

(i) the manner in which the money found with or on, or
the proceeds of the sale of other personal effects of,
a vagrant may be applied to the welfare of vagrants
under section 14 ;

(j) the management and discipline referred to in sub-
section (1) of section 15 to which vagrants detained in
receiving centres and vagrants' homes shall be subject ;

(k) the type of the hard labour which is to form the punish-
ment which may be awarded under sub-section (3) of
section 15 ;

(I) the manner in which a vagrant may be sent from one
vagrants' home to another under section 16 ;

250

APPENUIX IV

(w) the manner in which the Manager of a vagrants' home
is to certify under clause (a) of sub-section (1) of section
18 that satisfactory employment has been obtained
for a vagrant ;

(n) the amount of the bond referred to in clause (c) of sub-
section (1) of section 18;

(0) the officer referred to in sub-section (1) of section 14.
29. Continuance of action taken under Bengal Ordinance II
of 1943 : Any rules made or anything done or any action taken
or any proceedings commenced in exercise of any power con-
ferred by or under the Bengal Vagrancy Ordinance, 1943, shall,
on the said Ordinance ceasing to be in operation, be deemed to
have been made, done, taken or commenced in exercise of powers
conferred by or under this Act as if this Act had commenced on
the 30th day of July, 1943.

By order of the Governor,

S. N. MUKHEKJEE,
Secy, to the Govt. of Bengal.

PART II
THE FORT ST. GEORGE GAZETTE

Published by Authority
Madras, Tuesday evening, May 13, 1941

The following Act received the assent of His Excellency
the Governor-General on the 28th April, 1941, and is hereby
published for general information.

ACT No. XIII OF 1941.

AN ACT FURTHER TO AMEND THE MADRAS CITY
POLICE ACT, 1888, for certain purposes.
MADRAS ACT OF III OF 1888.

WHEREAS it is expedient further to amend the Madras
City Police Act, 1888, for the purposes hereinafter appearing ;

260

APPENDIX IV

AND WHEREAS the Governor of Madras has, by a Pro-
clamation under section 98 of the Government of India Act,
1935, assumed to himself all powers vested by or under the sai$
Act in the Provincial Legislature;

NOW, THEREFORE, in exercise of the powers so as-
sumed to himself, the Governor is pleased to enact as follows :

SHORT TITLE AND COMMENCEMENT

1. (1) This Act may be called the Madras City Police
(Amendment) Act, 1941,

(2) (a) This section^ section 2 and new section 71-A inserted
in the Madras City Police Act, 1888 (hereinafter referred to as
the said Act), by section 3, shall come into force at once.

(b) The Provincial Government may, by notification in
the Fort St. George Gazette, direct that new sections 71-B to
71-L inserted in the saickAct by section 3, shall come into force
on such date as may be appointed in the notification.

AMENDMENT OF SECTION 71, MADRAS ACT III OF 1888.

2. Clause 21 of section 71 of the said Act shall be
omitted.

INSERTION OF NEW SECTIONS 71-A to 71-L IN MADRAS ACT III

OF 1888.

3. After section 71 of the said Act, the following sections
shall be inserted, namely :

PENALTY FOR BEGGING IN PUBLIC PLACES

71-A. Whoever in any public street, road, or thorough-
fare or any place of public resort, begs or applies for alms, or
exposes or exhibits any sore, wound, bodily ailment or deformity
with the object of exciting charity or of extorting alms,
shall be punishable with fine which may extend to fifty rupees
or with imprisonment which may extend to one month.

DEFINITIONS OF "WORK HOUSE" AND "SPECIAL HOME."

71-B In sections 71 -C to 71-L:

(a) " work-house " shall mean a place notified by the Pro-

261

APPENDIX IV

vincial Government in the Fort St. George Gazette
as suitable for the reception of persons physically
capable of ordinary manual labour, who are committed
to a work-house under any of the provisions contained
in the said sections ; and

(6) " special home " shall mean a place notified by the
Provincial Government in the Fort St. George Gazette
as suitable for the reception of persons not physically
capable of ordinary manual labour, who are committed
to a special home under any of the provisions contained
in the said sections.

APPLICATION OF SECTIONS 71-D to 71-L

71-C. The provisions of sections 71-D to 71-G shall apply
only if the Provincial Government have notified a place as a
work-house or as a special home; the provisions of section 71-H
shall apply if the Provincial Government have notified a place
as a work-house ; and the provisions of section 71-1 shall apply
if the Provincial Government have notified a place as a special
home.

PERSONS ARRESTED FOR OFFENCE UNDER SECTION 71 -A TO BE
EXAMINED BY MEDICAL OFFICER

71-D. Any person arrested by a police-officer for an offence
punishable under Sec. 71 -A who in the opinion of such Police
Officer has attained the age of sixteen years., shall without delay
be taken before a medical officer attached to the Police Depart-
ment ; and the medical officer shall after examining such person
grant a certificate regarding his age and physical capacity for
ordinary manuat labour.

ARRESTED PERSON TO BE PRODUCED BEFORE JUVENILE COURT,
IF FOUND TO BE UNDER SIXTEEN.

71-E. If in the opinion of such medical officer the person
arrested has not attained the age of sixteen years, such persons
shall without delay be produced, together with the certificate
of the medical officer before a Juvenile Court referred to in sub-

APPENDIX IV

section (1) of section 71-K and the provisions of that section
shall then apply to the case.

ARRESTED PERSON TO BE PRODUCED BEFORE SALARIED PRES.
MAGISTRATE IF FOUND TO BE NOT UNDER 16.

71-F. (1) If in the opinion of such medical officer the
person arrested has attained the age of sixteen years, he shall
without delay be produced before a salaried Presidency Magis-
trate together with the certificate and a report by a Police-
Officer of the facts of the case.

(2) The Magistrate shall make a summary inquiry into
the facts of the case and the circumstances and the character
of the person produced before him.

(3) During such inquiry the Magistrate shall explain to
such person the facts alleged against him in the Police report
and record any statement which he may wish to make with
reference thereto.

(4) If such person disputes the correctness of the Police
report in any material respect, the Magistrate shall proceed as
nearly as may be in accordance with the procedure laid down
for the trial of summons cases in the Code of Criminal Procedure,
1898.

ORDERS TO BE PASSED BY MAGISTRATE IF HE FINDS ACCUSED

TO BE UNDER 16.

71 -G. If the Magistrate finds that the person in respect of
whom an enquiry is made under section 71-F is guilty of an
offence under section 71-A, but has not attained the age of
sixteen years, the Magistrate may pass any order which a Juve-
nile Court could have passed if such person had been produc-
ed before it under sub-section (1) or section 71-K.

POWERS OF MAGISTRATE TO COMMIT ABLE-BODIED ACCUSED

OF 16 OF OVER TO WORK-HOUSE.

71-H. (1) If the Magistrate finds that the person in
respect of whom such inquiry is made is guilty of an offence
tinder section 71-A, has attained the age of sixteen years, and
is physically capable of ordinary manual labour, the Magistrate

208

APPENDIX IV

may, if there is a work-house, instead of sentencing him under
section 71 -A, order his commital to sucli work-house for a
specified period not exceeding three years:

Provided that the Magistrate may in his discretion order
the release of such person if he gives an undertaking in writing
that he will not again commit an offence under section 71 -A
for such period not exceeding two years as the Magistrate may
direct.

(2) Any person who commits an offence under section 71-A,
in breach of an undertaking given by him under the proviso
to sub-section (1) shall, if in the opinion of the Magistrate be
is physically capable of ordinary manual labour, be punishable
with imprisonment for a term which may extend to six months:

Provided that the Magistrate may, instead of sentencing
the offender as aforesaid, order his committal to a work-house
for a soecified period not exceeding three years.

POWER OF MAGISTRATE TO COMMIT ACCUSED WHO is NOT

ABLE-BODIED TO SPECIAL HOME.

71-1. If the Magistrate finds that the person in respect of
whom an enquiry is made under section 71 -F is guilty of an
offence under section 71-A and has attained the age of sixteen
years but is not physically capable of ordinary manual labour,
the Magistrate may, if there is a special home, instead of
sentencing him under section 71-A, order his commital to
such home for a specified period not exceeding three years.
MAGISTRATE'S FINDING REGARDING AGE TO BE FINAL

71-J. Where a Magistrate has arrived at a finding regard-
ing the age of a person dealt with by him under section 71 -G,
71-H, or 71-1, such age shall, for the purposes thereof, be deem-
ed to be his truQ. age, and no order or judgement of the Magis-
trate shall be deemed to be invalid or be liable to be interfered
with an appeal or revision on the ground that the age of such
person was not correctly determined by the Magistrate.
PRODUCTION OF ARRESTED PERSON UNDER 16 BEFORE JUVENILE

COURT & PROCEDURE AND POWERS OF SUCH COURT.

71-K (1) If any person arrested by a Police Officer for
an offence punishable under section 71-A has, in the opinion of

204

APPENDIX IV

such Police Officer, not attained the age of sixteen years, he
shall without delay be produced before a Juvenile Court esta-
blished under Section 36 of the Madras Children Act, 1920, and
shall be dealt with under the provisions of that Act as modi-
fied by the provisions of this section :

Provided that if the Juvenile Court is satisfied on inquiry
that such person has attained the age of sixteen years, it shall
record a finding to that effect, and thereupon it shall be open
to the Police to proceed against such person under section 71-A,
or if there is a work-house or a special home, under section 71-D;
and in the latter case the medical officer referred to in section
71-D shall be required to certify only regarding the physical
capacity of such person for ordinary manual labour, and the
finding of the Juvenile Court regarding the age of such person
shall also be binding on the salaried Presidency Magistrate before
whom he may be produced.

(2) If the Juvenile Court finds on inquiry that any person
brought before it under sub-section (1) has not attained the age
of fourteen years and is guilty of an offence under section 71-A
and that he :

(a) has no home or settled place of abode or visible means
of subsistence, or has no parent or guardian, or has a
parent or guardian who does not exercise proper
guardianship, or

(b) is destitute and both his parents or his surviving parent
or in the case of an illegitimate child, his mother, are
or is undergoing transportation or imprisonment, or

(c) is under the care of a parent or guardian who by reason
of criminal or drunken habits is unfit to have such care,
the Court may pass such order in respect of the offender
as it could have passed if he had been brought before
it under subsection (1) or section 29 of the Madras
Children Act, 1920 :

Provided that if the Juvenile Court is satisfied that it is
inexpedient to send the offender to a certified school by reason
of his bodily ailment or incapacity, or other cause, the Court
may, if there is a special home and separate accommodation is

265

APPENDIX IV

provided in such home for persons who have not attained the
age of fourteen years order his committal tq such home for a
specified period not exceeding three y^ars.

(8) If the Juvenile Court finds on inquiry that a person
produced before it under sub-section (1) has attained the age
of fourteen years but has not attained the age of sixteen years
and that he is guilty of an offence under section 71-A, the Court
may order his committal for a specified period not exceeding
three years,

(a) in case it finds that he is physically capable of ordinary
manual labour, to a work-house, if there is one, and

(b) in case it finds that he is not physically capable of or-
dinary manual labour, to a special home, if there is
one.

POWER OF PKOV. GOVT. TO MAKE RULES FOR CARRYING
INTO EFFECT SEC. 71 -B to 71 -K.

71 -L, (1) The Provincial Government may, by notification
in the Port St. George Gazette make rules for carrying into
effect the provisions of sections 71-B to 71-K.

(2) In particular and without prejudice to the generality
of the foregoing power, such rules may provide for :

(a) the management of work-houses and special homes,
the detention of persons committed to such work-
houses and special homes, and the maintenance, care,
treatment and instruction of such persons, including
all matters relating to their diet and accommodation
as well as their labour and general conduct ;

(b) the discharge of persons from such work-houses and
special homes ;

(d) the nature, incidents and maximum periods of the
punishments to be imposed on persons detained in
work-houses and special homes for breach of any

266

APPENDIX IV

rules or for failure or neglect to accept any suitable
employment outside such work-houses and special homes
which may be obtained for them."

By order of His Excellency the Governor,

P. APPU NAIR,

Secretary to Government, Legal Department^

PART HI
Mysore Bill for the prevention of Beggary

[Bill for the Prohibition of Beggary as amended by the
Select Committee.]

(Words in italics indicate the amendments suggested by
the Committee. Omissions are indicated by asterisks.)

A Bill for the Prohibition of Beggary

Preamble : WHEREAS it is necessary and expedient to
prohibit persons from resorting to begging as a
means of livelihood and to make provision for
the relief of such persons ; it is hereby enacted
as follows :

CHAPTER I

PRELIMINARY

1. Short Title : (1) This Act may be called the Act for
the Prohibition of Beggary.

Extent and Commencement : (2) This section shall come into
force at once and the Government may by notification in the
Official Gazette, apply for all or any of the remaining provisions
of this Act to the whole or any part of Mysore from such date as
may be specified in the notification :

Provided that no such provisions of this Act shall be so
applied unless the Government is satisfied that suitable facilities
exist or can be made available by the Central Relief Committee
for the relief of the beggars of that area.

267

APPENDIX IV

CHAPTER II.

2. Definitions : In this Act, unless there is anything re-
pugnant in the subject or context,

(1) " Alms " means anything given gratuitously to* * a
beggar, such as money, food cooked or uncooked grain or
clothing, or any other thing of value ;

(2) "Beggar (with its grammatical variations)" means any
person who makes his living by soliciting alms, impliedly or
explicitly, in any public place or a place to which the public
resort and includes

(i) any person who solicits alms wandering from door to
door;

(ii) any person who exposes or exhibits any sores, wounds
or bodily ailments or deformities or makes false and fraudulent
pretences or does any other act with the object of exciting pity
for securing alms;

(iii) a religious mendicant who asks for alms in any public
place or a place to which the public resort so as to be a nuisance :
Provided that

A person shall not be deemed to be a beggar if he

(i) is a religious mendicant licensed by the Central Relief

Committee to solicit alms in the prescribed manner ; or

(ii) in performance of any religious vow or obligation as

sanctioned by custom or religion collects alms in a

private or public place, without being a nuisance ; or

(iii) is permitted in writing by the Central Relief Committee

to collect contributions in cash or kind from the public

for any public institution, whether religious or secular

or for the furtherance of any object for the good of the

public ;

(iv) is a student collecting alms for the prosecution of his

studies ;

(8) Child: means a person under the age of twelve
years.

(4) Central Relief Committee : means the Committee
constituted by the Government under this Act ;

268

APPENDIX IV

(5) Foreigner: shall denote a person who is not a natural
born subject of His Highness the Maharaja or who has not
acquired domicile in the State by residence therein for not less
than five years immediately preceding the date when the
question of his status arises, coupled with the intention to
reside therein permanently; .

(6) Indoor Relief: includes relief given in any Institution
under the Act ;

(7) Institution : includes a Receiving or Relief centre,
colony, settlement area or any other institution declared to
be such by the Government;

(8) Local Area : means an area declared as such by the
Government, from time to time, for the purposes of this Act by
a notification in the official Gazette ;

(9) Local Committee : means the Committee appointed by
the Central Relief Committee for any local area;

(10) Magistrate : means a Magistrate not below the
rank of Second Class:

(11) Nuisance : means any act or omission by which
annoyance, injury or danger is caused or is likely to be caused
to any person or to the public ;

(12) Offence : means an act or omission prohibited or made
punishable under this Act ;

(13) Out-door relief: includes relief in cash or kind, or
both ;

(14) Prescribed : means prescribed by rules under this Act.

CHAPTER III

8. Begging prohibited : No person shall beg in the areas
notified under Section 1 of the Act.

4. Relief: The relief to be given under this Act shall be
Indoor relief but the Government may, on the recommendation
of the Central Relief Committee, permit the grant of Out-door
relief.

269

APPENDIX IT

CHAPTER IV

CONSTITUTION AND ADMINISTRATION

& Central Committee : (1) The Government may by noti-
fication in the Official Gazette, * * * *
constitute a Central Relief Committee.

Composition of the Central Committee : (2) The Committee
shall consist of such number of members as may be prescribed.

Chairman and Secretary : (3) The Government may ap-
point one of the members of the * * Committee as its
Chairman and appoint a Secretary who may or may not be a
member of the * * Committee.

Terms : (4?) The Chairman and the members of the *

* Committee shall hold office for such period as the Go-
vernment may by notification in the Official Gazette direct in
this behalf.

Vacancies : (5) (a) Casual or other vacancies in the *

* * Committee shall be filled up by the Government in
the .prescribed manner.

(b) During any vacancy in the * * * Com-
mittee, the continuing members may act as if no vacancy had
occurred.

Administration to vest in the Centred Relief Committee :
(6) Subject to the provisions of this Act and the rules made
thereunder, the supervision, direction, and control, of all mat-
ters relating to the administration of relief * * *
shall vest i$ the * * Committee.

6. Local committees: The * * * Committee,
may for the purposes of carrying out the provisions of this Act
in any local area* constitute as prescribed, a local committee.

7. Local administration: (1) Subject to the control of
the Central Relief Committee and the rules made in this behalf,
the administration of relief to the beggars in any local area
shall be vested in the local Committee.

(2) For the purpose of carrying

out the provisions of this Act in any part Qjf a local area, the
local committee may constitute sub-committees as prescribed*

270

APFEHDIX IV

CHAPTER V

INSTITUTIONS

8. Receiving Centres : The Central Relief Committee may
provide Receiving Centres for the reception and temporary
retention of beggars or it may declare by notification in the Offi-
cial Gazette any institution to be a Receiving Centre for the
purposes of this Act.

9. Relief Centres : The Central Relief Committee may
establish institutions, * * in such places as
may be deerted necessary for the relief of beggars sent thereto
or may in the manner prescribed ill Section 8, declare any exist-
ing institution as a Relief Centre.

10. Management of Centres : (a) Subject to the provisions
of this Act, the Central Relief Committee shall make provision
for the proper management of institutions and for the care of
the inmates therein.

Discipline in Centres: (b) Every person retained in any
of the institutions shall be subject to such rules of discipline
as may be prescribed.

Explanation "Discipline " includes the enforcement of manual labour and hard
labour.

11. Enforcement of Discipline : The Central Relief Com-
mittee may authorise the person in-charge of any institution to
enforce discipline in such institution in the manner prescribed.

CHAPTER VI

PROCEDURE AND PUNISHMENTS

12. Beggar who persists in begging to be arrested and sent to
the Receiving Centre : (1) Any police officer or such other officer
as may be authorised in this behalf, who finds any person con-
travening the provisions of Section 3, shall, in the first instance,
persuade such person to desist from begging and if he does not
so desist, shall arrest and remove him immediately to the nearest
Receiving Centre;

Enquiry at the Receiving Centre. Officer may release him

271

APPENDIX IV

with or without surety : (2) The person in-charge of the Receiv-
ing Centre shall thereupon without delay hold such enquiry as
he deems necessary and if satisfied that the person, if released,
will not resort to begging, shall release him forthwith, with or
without surety ; and if not so satisfied shall produce him before
the nearest Magistrate having jurisdiction. The Magistrate
shall thereupon hold an enquiry and if satisfied that such person
has committed the offence but promises not to contravene the
provisions of Section 3, shall release him after obtaining the
prescribed bond ;

Or send the beggar to the Magistrate, who may release the beg-
gar on Bond : (3) If the person so released is again produced
before the Magistrate for a similar offence, he shall if it is proved
against him, not be released without a surety.

13. Magistrate to send beggar to the Receiving Centre :
(i) If the person against whom action has been taken under
Section 12 is again produced before the Magistrate for a similar
offence or when such person does not or is unable to comply with
the directions contained in the said section, the Magistrate shall,
on summary enquiry, make an order declaring such person to
be a beggar and direct that he be detained in the 'nearest Re-
ceiving Centre.

Maintenance to be recovered from the beggar or his relative :
(ii) If in the course of the enquiry by the Magistrate under
Section 12, sub-section (1), it is found that the beggar has any
property in his own right or is entitled to a share in any pro-
perty, or has relatives who are legally bound to maintain him
and who wilfully neglect to maintain him the Magistrate may,
while making the declaratory order, direct that the cost of
maintaining the said beggar or such amount as specified by him
be recovered as fine from the property of the beggar or the person
or persons responsible for his maintenance.

14. How person in-charge of Deceiving Centre to deal with
the beggar so sent : Any person so sent to the Receiving Centre
shall thereafter be removed to such Institution as is declared
by the person in-charge of the Receiving Centre, to be suitable
to him.

272

APPENDIX IV

15. Infirm and decrepit beggars and incurables to be
arrested and sent to Receiving Centres : (i) Any Police Officer or
such other officer as may be authorised in this behalf, who finds
in any public place, or any place to which the public resort,
any beggar who is infirm, disabled, decrepit, or suffering from
any loathsome or incurable disease, shall arrest that person
and remove him without delay to the Receiving Centre.

Person in-ckarge of the Receiving Centre to remove suck beg"
gars to the Magistrate to obtain declaration : (ii) The person in-
charge of the Receiving Centre shall thereafter hold an enquiry
and ascertain from that person, if he has any relatives and if
there are anj, the officer shall immediately send for them and
if on enquiry it is found that the beggar cannot be taken care
of, or if there are no relatives, the person in-charge of the
Receiving Centre shall, with his report of enquiry, immediately
produce him before the Magistrate, who after enquiry shall
declare that person to be a beggar and order him to be taken
at once to the Receiving Centre.

To be sent to the institution kept for them : (iii) The person
in-charge of the Receiving Centre shall thereafter send such
person to one of the institutions kept for that purpose.

16. Child beggars to be sent to the Receiving Centres under
a Declaration by the Magistrate : ( 1 ) If a person arrested under
the provisions of this Act, is, in the opinion of the officer arrest-
ing him, below the age of twelve years, he shall without delay
be removed to the Receiving Centre, whereupon the person in-
charge of the Receiving Centre shall, after preliminary enquiry,
place him before the Magistrate and, if the Magistrate after
enquiry finds that he

(a) has no home or settled place or abode or means of
subsistence or has no parent or guardian, or has a
parent or guardian who does not exercise a proper
wardship ; or

(b) is a destitute and both his parents or his surviving
parent, or in the case of an illegitimate child, his
mother, are or is undergoing imprisonment; or

273

APPEN0IX IV

of criminal or drunken habits is unfit to exercise such
care;

shall declare the person to be a beggar and send him to the
Receiving Centre :

Provided that if such a person has a parent or a proper
guardian, the Magistrate shall call upon that parent or guar-
dian to execute a bond and stand surety for that person not
committing an act contrary to the provisions of Section 8 and
thereafter release him, but if that parent or guardian himself
is a beggar, and no other relative comes forward to take care of
the person, he shall be sent to the Receiving Centre with a
declaration as provided therein.

Maintenance of the child to be recovered from parent or guar-
dian : (2) If in the course of the enquiry, the Magsistrate is
of opinion that the parent or guardian being competent to main-
tain the child, has wilfully neglected to do so, he may in his
order committing such child to the Receiving Centre, direct that
such amount as he may deem necessary for the maintenance of
the child be recovered by way of fine from such person or
guardian.

Manner in which person in-charge of the Receiving Centre
to deal with the child : (3) The person in-charge of the Receiving
Centre shall thereupon send the child to such Institution best
suited for him.

17. Beggar not to leave the institution till discharge: No
person who is admitted to any Institution shall leave the said
place without an order of discharge or without the written per-
mission of the person in-charge of the Institution.

18. Absconding beggars how to be dealt with: (1) On a
report from the person in-charge of any Institution that a per-
son has left such institution in contravention of the provisions
of Section 17, and Police Officer or any officer authorised in this
behalf shall arrest him without a warrant and produce him before
the nearest Magistrate and the Magistrate shall, after satisfying
that the said person did commit the act complained of order
him to be delivered to the institution, with a warning.

Imprisonment: (2) Any person dealt with under the pro-

274

APPENDIX IV

vision of sub-section (1), who absconds or takes to begging after
he is discharged under Section 17 shall be placed before a Magis-
trate, who after an enquiry may convict him and sentence him
to imprisonment for a period not exceeding three months.

19. Abettors punished with imprisonment or fine or both :
Whoever employs any person to ask for alms, or abets such
employment, or whoever having the custody, charge of care
of a child, abets or encourages sucli employment shall be punish-
ed on conviction before a Magistrate with simple or rigorous
imprisonment for a term which may extend to three months or
with fine which may extend to one hundred rupees or with both,

20. Refusal of a Beggar to go to a Beggar Belief Institution
or to a Magistrate punishable with imprisonment or fine or both :
Any person refusing or failing to accompany a Police Officer
or any officer authorised in this behalf to appear before a Magis-
trate or to be taken to an Institution when required, under this
Act, shall be punished on conviction by a Magistrate, with
simple imprisonment for a term which may extend to one
month or with fine or both.

CHAPTER VII

MISCELLANEOUS

21. Begging a cognizable offence: All offences under this
Act shall be cognizable * * * as defined in the Criminal
Procedure Code.

22. (1) Where a magistrate, before whom a beggar is pro-
duced under sections 12, 13 or 15, is satisfied that the beggar
is a foreigner, he may order the beggar to remove himself from
Mysore and may cause him to be removed from Mysore in such
manner as may be prescribed ;

(2) If any beggar ordered to remove himself from Mysore
or to be removed therefrom wilfully returns thereto he shall be
punishable with imprisonment which may extend to three months,
and after the completion of his term of imprisonment, shall be
liable to be removed from Mysore in the prescribed manner

275

APPENDIX IV

28. Fines : Fines recovered under this Act shall be cre-
dited to the Central Relief Fund,

24. POWCK to acquire property \ etc : The Central Relief
Committee or any local committee subject to the rules made
in this behalf shall have power to acquire property, enter into
contracts, institute and defend legal proceedings and do all other
acts incidental thereto.

25. Appointment of officers : The Central Relief Committee
or the local committee with the previous sanction of the Central
Relief Committee may appoint officers for the purpose of the
Act in accordance with the rules prescribed in that behalf.

26. Protection of officers : No suit, prosecution or other
legal proceedings shall lie against any person * * for
anything which is done or intended to be done in good faith
under this Act.

27. Public servant : Every person empowered to perform
any function under the Act shall be deemed to be a public ser-
vant within the meaning of Section 21 of the Indian Penal
Code as in force in Mysore.

28. Central Relief Fund : In order to carry out the purposes
of this Act, a fund called the Central Relief Fund shall be formed.
This Fund shall consist of - -

(i) subscriptions and donations ;
(ii) grants from the Government ;
(iii) grants from Local Bodies, and other private or public

Institutions ;

(iv) fines recovered under this Act ;
(v) receipts from other sources.

29. Taxation : If the Central Relief Fund is found to be
insufficient for the grant of adequate relief to beggars under
this Act, the Government may levy a cess on all items of State
Revenue, other than revenue derived as tax or cess on land or
buildings.

30. Board of Visitors : The Government may as per rules
made in this behalf appoint a Board of Visitors in local areas to
inspect, from time to time, the Institutions situated therein, and
to make a report on the working of these institutions to the

APPENDIX IV

Government and offer such suggestions as In their opinion they
deem fit for the improvement of the said institutions.

31, Notwithstanding anything to the contrary in the
Code of Criminal Procedure, 1904, any person, aggrieved by any
decision of a magistrate under this Act, may apply to the Court
of Session having jurisdiction in the prescribed manner and
within the prescribed time for revision of such decision and the
Court in so doing may examine the legality or propriety of the
proceedings before the magistrate. The decision of the Court
shall be final,

32, Appeal : (1 ) If any inmate of an institution is aggrieved
by any order passed by any person in -charge of the Institution,
he may appeal against that order to the Chairman of the Local
Committee,

Appeal, Board's decision final : (2) The decision of the Chair-
man of the Local Committee may be taken up in the second
appeal to the Board of Appeal constituted as prescribed by the
Belief Committee from amongst its members, and the order of
that Board shall be final,

33, Charge for Misconduct : The Government nxay on the
report of an Auditor who may be appointed by the Government to
audit tlie accounts of the Central Relief Fund pass an order
charging any person responsible for incurring any loss due to
misconduct or negligence, after obtaining his explanation and
shall in every such case certify the amount due from such person,
and the Central Relief Committee shall recover the said amount
from such person as if it were an arrear of land revenue and credit
it to the Central Relief Fund

34, Publication of Annual accounts: The annual accounts
of receipts and expenditure, and the budget when sanctioned
shall be open to public inspection and shall be published in such
manner as the Government may prescribe.

35, Administration Report: (1) As soon as may be after
the 1st of July every year, and not later than such date as may
b# fixed by the Government, the Central Relief Committee shall
submit to the Government an administration report for the
preceding official year in such manner and with such details as
the Government may direct,

277

APPENDIX IV

(2) Each Local Committee shall.,

as soon as may be after the 1st July of each year and not alter
than such date as may be fixed by the Central Relief Com-
mittee, submit to the Central Relief Committee an administration
report for the preceding official year in such manner and in*
such form as may be fixed by the Central Relief Committee.

(3) The report shall be publish-
ed in such manner as the Government may direct*

CHAPTER VIII

CONTROL.

86. Powers of Government : The Government or any officer
authorised by the Government by a general or special order shall
have power

(a) Inspection of Institutions : to enter and inspect any
institution under the control or management of the Central
Relief Committee or inspect any work in progress under it or
under its direction ;

(b) Calling for any record : to call for any extract from
the ^proceedings of the Central Relief Committee or of any Com-
mittee under its control and direction and any return, statement,
account or report which the Central Relief Committee may be
required to furnish ;

(c) Rectification of orders : to inspect the office of the Central
Relief Committee or any office under its control and direction,
and call for the records of any such office, and the officer autho-
rized shall submit the records for the orders of Government if
he is satisfied that the order or proceeding of the Central Relief
Committee or the Local Committee is contrary to law or orders
for the time beingnn force.

87. Disputes : (1) If any dispute arises between the
Central Relief Committee and Local Committees or local bodies
in any matters arising under the provisions of this * *
Act and the dispute is not amicably settled, the matter shall be
reported to the Government who may take cognizance of the
dispute and decide it and the decision of the Government shall
be final*

278

APPENDIX IV

.(2) Bar to Civil proceedings : No suit shall foe 'entertained
.by a Civil Court in respect of -any dispute referred to in sub-
section (1).

8L Rules and ^Orders: '(I) The Government -may make
triiles or orders generally for the purpose of carrying into -eifect
ithe provision* of this Act.

(2) In particular and without

prejudice to the generality of the foregoing power, the Govern-
ment may make rules for

(a) Licensing of religions mendwanis : the manner in which
religious mendicants may be licensed;;

(ft) Constitution of Committee-: the constitution of the
Committee and institutions and their powers, duties
and functions ;

(d) Board of Visitors: the constitution of the Board of
Visitors, its powers, duties and functions;

(e) Submission of records : the submission of returns and
statements and reports and the preparation and sub-
mission of annual receipts and expenditure and the
annual administration report by the Central Relief
Committee and the Local Committees;

(/) Audit: the auditing of accounts;

(g) Board of Appeal : the constitution of a Board of Appeal,
its powers, duties and functions ;

(h) Transfer of Beggars : the transfer of beggars from one
institution to another ; and

(i) Form of bonds : prescribing the form of bonds required
to be taken under the provisions of this Act*

(3) Publication : The power of

the Government to make rules under this Act shall be subject
to the condition of previous publication,

' (4) All rules made by the

Government under this Act shall be published in the Official

279

ACTENDIX IT

Gazette, both in English and Kannada, and shall thereupon have
effect as if enacted under this Act.

&9*. If any provision of any other enactment in force in
Mysore is repugnant to any provision contained ia this Act*
the latter provision, shall prevail*

280

APPENDIX XV

PART IV
The Cochin Vagrancy Bill

PREAMBLE.

WHEREAS it is expedient to deal more effectively with
the beggars |md vagrants in the State and establish institutions
for the reception, accommodation and treatment of such persons,
it is hereby enacted as follows :

CHAPTER I.

SHORT TITLE, COMMENCEMENT & EXTENT

1. (i) This Act may be called the COCHIN VAGRANCY ACT

of 111.

(ii) It shall come into force on such day as the Govern-
ment by notification in the Gazette,, directs.

(iii) It shall apply to such local areas as the Govt. may,
from time to time, notify in the Gazette.

POWER TO EXCLUDE ANY LOCAL AREA ALREADY NOTIFIED.

2. The Government may, by notification in the Gazette,
exclude any local area which has been notified under Section
1 (iii) from the operation of this Act.

DEFINITIONS

3. In this Act, unless there is anything repugnant in the
subject or context :

(i) " magistrate " means a person exercising the powers
under CRIMINAL PROCEDURE CODE not less
than those of Magistrate of the second class.

(ii) "Vagrant" means:

(a) any person wandering abroad or placing himself in
any public plriee to beg or gather alms or causing
or encouraging or procuring any child &o do so ;

(b) any person wandering abroad* to > hawk goods
without a pedlar's license ;

881

APPENDIX IV

(d) any person running away causing his child or wife
to live upon charity;

((e) any person endeavouring to procure alms by exposing
deformities or by making fraudulent pretences ;

{ f) any person found in a building or inside an enclosed
yard or garden, for any immoral and unlawful
purpose ;

(g) any person gaming, in an open and public place, at
some game of chance with cards, coins and other
instruments ;

(h) any person telling fortunes or using any subtle craft,
by palmistry or otherwise, to deceive;

(i) any . (person wandering abroad, without visible means
of subsistence, and lodging in unoccupied buildings, or
under a tree or tent or in a cart, and not giving a
good account of himself;

{j) any person knowingly living, wholly or in part, on the
earnings of prostitution, or persistently soliciting in
public for immoral purposes.

(iii) " child" means a minor belonging to either sex ;

(iv) "prescribed" means prescribed by the Government
of Cochin and notified in the Cochin Government
Gazette.

CHAPTER II.

Receiving Centres and Institutions for the Reception,
Accommodation and Treatment of Vagrants.

RECEIVING CENTEES :

4. The Government may provide receiving centres with
their necessary furniture and establishment, at such places as
they may think proper, for the reception and detention of

APPENDIX IV

vagrants, or may, by notification in the Gazette, certify any build-
ing or part of a building or quarters as a receiving centre, and
thereupon such building or part of a building or quarters, shall
until the Government otherwise order, be deemed a receiving
centre for vagrants under the Act.

INSTITUTIONS FOR THE ACCOMMODATION AND TREATMENT OF

VAGRANTS.

5. The Government may provide institutions for the
accommodation and treatment of vagrants, such as hospitals for
incurables and curables, alms houses, individual homes, indus-
trial schools, or other similar institutions; or may, by notifica-
tion in the Government Gazette, certify any existing building
to be an institution for the accommodation and treatment of
vagrants under this Act :

Provided the Government may also authorise any private
agency or local bodies to run the institutions mentioned in this
section on such conditions as the Government may stipulate.

DETENTION OF VAGRANTS IN RECEIVING CENTRES.

6. All vagrants declared to be such under the Act shall
be received and detained in the first instance at the receiving
centre, and after examination by the medical superintendent
or officer-in -charge, shall be removed to one or other of the
institutions for which they may be declared fit.

APPOINTMENT OF BOARD OF GUARDIANS

7. The Government shall appoint for each of the local
areas to which this Act applies a Board of Guardians consisting
of five members. Such persons shall hold office for such period
as the Government may, by notification in the Gazette direct.

POWERS OF THE BOARD OF GUARDIANS

8. The Board of Guardians shall have the absolute control
of the receiving centres and institutions provided or certified
under Sections 5 and 6, subject to any rules made in this behalf
by Government;

Provided that where the institutions are run by private

288

APPENDIX IV

agencies or local bodies the Government shall have the power
of limiting the powers of the Board as it thinks proper.

APPOINTMENT OF MEDICAL SUPERINTENDENT.

9. The Board of Guardians may, subject to the approval
of the Government, appoint a Medical Superintendent to
exercise general charge of any or all of such receiving centres or
institutions provided or certified under the Act.

APPOINTMENT OF OTHER OFFICERS

10. The Board of Guardians may also, from time to time,
appoint such other medical and other officers and servants for
the control and management of the receiving centres and insti-
tutions and generally for the carrying out of the provisions of
this Act as they may think fit.

POWERS TO MAKE RULES

11. The Board of Guardians shall make rules to provide

for:

(i) The time and places at which their meetings shall be

held;

(ii) The issue of notices for convening such meetings ;
(iii) The conduct of business thereat ;
(iv) The quorum necessary for such meetings ;
(v) The appointment, leave and pension of officers and

servants appointed under the Act; and
(vi) The general guidance of officer in connection with

the enforcement of the Act.

MEDICAL SUPERINTENDENTS AND OTHER OFFICERS
TO BE PUBLIC SERVANTS.

12. Every such medical superintendent or other officer
appointed under this Act shall be, after notification in the
Government Gazette, be deemed to be a public servant within
the meaning of the Cochin Penal Code.

POWER TO HAKE RULES FOR THE MANAGEMENT OF RECEIVING

CENTRES AND OTHER INSTITUTIONS.

18. (i) The Government may make rules from time to
time for the control and management of the receiving centres

APPENDIX IV

and of any hospitals for incurables or curables or alms-houses,
industrial houses or industrial schools or any other institution
provided or certified under the Act for the reception, accom-
modation and treatment of vagrants. In particular and without
prejudice to the generality for the foregoing powers, such rules
may provide for :

(a) the search of the person and clothing of any vagrant ;

(6) the custody or destruction of clothing and effects of
such person;

(d) the personal cleanliness, hours of work, hours of meals,
labour and general discipline and conduct of the in-
mates ;

(e) the particular institution in which a vagrant may be
treated ;

(/) taking of finger impressions and photographs and the
recording of further particulars for the future identi-
fication of the inmates ;
(g) the discharge of inmates from a receiving centre or

other institution ; and
(h) the segregation of inmates according to sex, age and

disease.

(ii) Any rules made under this section may, with the like
approval, be altered or rescinded by the Board of Guardians
after previous publication of the alteration or rescission.

(iii) Every rule and the alteration of a rule m&de under
this section and every rescission of any such rule, shall be pub-
lished in the Government Gazette.

VAGRANTS TO BE SUBJECT TO RULES

14. Vagrants admitted to a. receiving centre or other
institution under the Act shall be subject to such rules of
management and discipline as may, from time to time, be
prescribed.

PUNISHMENT OF VAGRANTS DISOBEYING RULES

15. The Board of Guardians may authorise any Medical
Superintendent or any officer-in-charge of a receiving centre or

285

APPENDIX IV

institution for the reception, accommodation and treatment of
vagrants to punish any vagrant who knowingly disobeys or
neglects any such rules with any one of the following punish-
ments :

(a) hard labour for any time not exceeding seven days ; or
(6) reduction of diet to such extent as the Board may
prescribe for any specified time.

CHAPTER III
PROCEDURE

POLICE OFFICER CAN COMPEL APPARENT VAGRANTS TO
ACCOMPANY HIM.

16. Any Police Officer may, within the limits of the local
area to which this Act is applicable, require any person, who is
apparently a vagrant, to accompany him or any other police
officer to, and appear before the local Magistrate.

MAGISTRATE MAY SEND VAGRANT TO RECEIVING CENTRE

17. (1) The Magistrate shall, in such a case, or in any other
case where a person, apparently a vagrant, comes before him,
make a summary enquiry into the circumstances and character
of such person and if he is satisfied that such person is a vagrant
shall record a declaration to that effect.

(2) If the Magistrate makes the declaration mentioned in
sub-clause (1) and if he has reason to believe that a declaration
of vagrancy has not on any former occasion been recorded in
respect of such vagrant, he shall require the vagrant to go to a
receiving centre for vagrants and shall draw up an order to that
effect.

(8) The vagrant shall then be made over to the custody of
the police for the purpose of being sent to a receiving centre for
vagrants and the said order shall be Sufficient authority to the
police for detaining him in their charge while he is on his way to
a receiving centre or other institution and, to the superintendent
for receiving and detaining him there, or for the removal of the
said vagrant from the receiving centre to any other institution

286

APPENDIX IV

for the reception, accommodation and treatment of vagrants
provided or certified under this Act.

18. (1) Whenever it shall appear to the Commissioner
of Police that any person is living on the earnings of vagrants
within the local areas to which this is made applicable, he shall
make a report to the Government with the recommendation
that such person be deported out of Cochin.

(2) On receipt of such report, the Government may issue
a warrant for the arrest of the person against whom a report
has been made. Such report shall be in the form prescribed by
the Government and shall be issued by the Secretary to the
Government of His Highness the Maharaja of Cochin.

(3) The person arrested shall be detained in custody
pending, the final orders of the Government unless the
Commissioner of Police otherwise directs.

(4) The District Magistrate or any other Magistrate of the
rank not below the second class shall thereafter consider in
camera the case against him and shall thereafter report his con-
clusions to the Government.

(5) On receipt of the report, the Government may, if
satisfied that the person against whom the report has been made
should be removed from Cochin, direct him to leave Cochin
within such time and for such period as may be stated in the
order and may further order that he shall during the same period
notify his place of residence and any change, or intended change
of residence, to such Officer as may be prescribed by the
Government.

MAGISTRATE MAY SEND VAGKANTS TO RECEIVING CENTRES IN

ADDITION TO OTHER PUNISHMENT.

19. When any person has been convicted of any offence
by a Court under its summary jurisdiction, or when any person
appears or is brought before such court under the provisions of
this Act, and if, after due enquiry, the Magistrate is of opinion
that the person so convicted or appearing or brought before
the court is a vagrant he may, in addition to or in substitution
for, any punishment, which he has power to inflict, order such

287

APPENDIX IV

person to go to a receiving centre or other institution for the
treatment of vagrants.

(2) Any such order shall declare that the person against
whom it is made is a vagrant. Such order shall be sufficient
authority to the police for keeping in custody such person on
the way to a receiving centre or other institution, and to the
superintendent for receiving and detaining him there, or for the
removal of the said vagrant from the receiving centre to any
other institution for the reception, accommodation and treat-
ment of vagrants provided or certified under this Act.

DETENTION IN RECEIVING CENTRES

20. Every person sent to such receiving centre or any
such Institution shall be detained until work has been found
for him or until he is removed or discharged as mentioned
therein.

VAORANTS TO BE PUT TO LABOUR

21. Every person so detained shall, if he is physically fit,
be put to such labour as the Medical superintendent or a medical
officer appointed by the Board of Guardians shall certify him
to be capable of doing.

VAGRANT TO BE SEARCHED ON ADMISSION

22. (1) Every vagrant admitted to a receiving centre
or other institution shall be searched, and the vagrant's
bundles, packages and other personal effects shall be inspected.

(2) The Medical superintendent or other officer in charge
may direct that any money then found with or on the vagrant
shall be applied towards his maintenance while in such receiving
centre or other institution, and any balance remaining shall be
returned to such vagrant on his discharge therefrom.

EXAMINATION AND TRANSFER Or VAGRANT

23. Whenever a person is declared to be a vagrant and is
sent to a receiving centre the Medical superintendent or other
Officer-in-charge shall after due period and careful examination
decide to which particular institution for the detention and treat-
ment of vagrants he shall further be sent, and such vagrant
shall be sent to such institutions as the Medical superintendent

288

APPENDIX IV

or other Officer-in-charge shall decide, subject to the control of
the Board of Guardians.

MEDICAL SUPERINTENDENT, ETC., To OBTAIN OUTSIDE
EMPLOYMENT FOR VAGRANTS

24. (1) The Medical superintendent, Superintendents or
Officers-in-charge of a receiving centre and institution declared
or certified under this Act, and the Board of Guardians shall
use his or their best endeavours to obtain, as soon as con-
veniently may be suitable outside employment for vagrants
under their charge.

(ft) The Board may discharge any person from such
receiving centre or any such institution in accordance with the
rules made under Section 13 (1) (g).

CHAPTER IV

PENALTIES

REFUSAL To Go BEFORE A MAGISTRATE

25. Any person refusing or failing to accompany a police
officer, to, or to appear before, a magistrate for the purpose of a
preliminary enquiry, when required to do so under Section 17,
may be arrested without a warrant and shall be liable on con-
viction before a Magistrate, to imprisonment, with or without
hard labour, for a term which may extend to one month, or with
fine which may extend to fifty rupees, or with both, in addition
to any order passed under Section 18 or any penalty imposed
under Section 29.

ESCAPING FROM POLICE, RECEIVING CENTRE OR INSTITUTION

26. Any vagrant who escapes from the police while com-
mitted to their charge under an order specified in Section 17 or
Section 18, or who leaves a receiving centre or institution for the
treatment of vagrants provided or certified under this Act,
without permission from the Medical superintendent or Officer-
in-charge of such centre or institution or who, having such per-
mission fails to return on the expiration of such time shall, if
no satisfactory reason is given for such absence, be liable on

289

APPENDIX IV

conviction before a Magistrate to imprisonment with or without
labour, for a term which may extend to six months for every such
offence.

DISOBEYING OK NEGLECTING RULES

27. In lieu of any punishment inflicted by the Medical
superintendent or other Officer under Section 16, any vagrant
who knowingly and persistently disobeys or neglects any rules
or management or discipline shall be liable on conviction before
a Magistrate, to imprisonment, with or without hard labour,
for a term which may extend to three months.

REFUSING EMPLOYMENT

28. Any vagrant who refuses to avail himself of employment
obtained for him under section 24 shall be liable, on conviction
before a Magistrate, to imprisonment, with or without hard
labour, for a term which may extend to three months.

HABITUAL VAGRANTS:

29. (1) Any person who has been previously produced
or who has previously appeared before Magistrate under Section
18 or Section 19 and has previously been sent to a receiving centre
or any institution for the reception, accommodation and treat-
ment of vagrants, aud is again produced or appears before a
Magistrate under the same Sections of this Act, and is again de-
clared a vagrant shall be liable to imprisonment with or without
hard labour, for a term which may extend to three months, and
for any third or subsequent declaration as a vagrant to imprison-
ment, with or without hard labour, for a term which may extend
to one year.

(2) It shall be no bar to a prosecution under this Section
that such a vagrant, owing to the fact of his previous declaration
as a vagrant being then unknown, has been dealt with under
Section 18, or Section 19, and already sent to the receiving
centre.

CAUSING CHILDKEN To BEG

30. (1) Any person who allows, causes, employs, or en-
courages a child under 16 years of age to beg, or profits by the
begging of a child under 16 years of age, whether or not there

290

APPENDIX IV

is any pretence of singing, playing, performing, offering anything
for sale or otherwise, shall, on conviction before a Magistrate
be liable to imprisonment, with or without hard labour, for a
term which may extend to two years, or to a fine not exceeding
500 rupees, or both.

(2) Any action taken against a vagrant or against any
person living on the earnings of a vagrant under Section 16 of
this Act shall be no bar to any prosecution under clause (1) of
this Section.

(3) Whoever abets or assists the commission of any offence
under clause (1) shall also be liable to the same punishment.

REPATRIATION

81. (1) If within a reasonable time, not exceeding three
months from the date when he was admitted to any receiving
centre or other institution for the detention and treatment of
vagrants no suitable employment is found for any able-bodied
vagrant detained in such receiving centre or other institution,
and such vagrant not being a bona fide subject of His Highness
the Maharaja of Cochin, the Government may, on the application
of the Board of Guardians, order him to be repatriated from
Cochin; and he shall be repatriated accordingly.

(2) Any person returning to Cochin after having been
repatriated under this Section shall be liable on conviction there-
of before a magistrate, to imprisonment, with or without hard
labour, for a term which may extend to six months.

(3) All the expenses of such repatriation shall be borne
by the Government.

CHAPTER V

MISCELLANEOUS

RECOVERY OF FINES :

32, All fines imposed under the provisions of this Act may
be recovered in the manner prescribed by the Code of Criminal
Procedure.

83. (1) Any person who fails to comply with or attempts

291

APPENDIX IV

to evade any direction given in accordance with the provisions
of Section 16 shall be liable to be arrested without a warrant
and shall, on conviction by Magistrate, be liable to be punished
with imprisonment for a term which may extend to two years
or to a fine which may extend to one thousand rupees, or both.
(2) An offence under this section shall be deemed to be
non-bailable.

FINES: How TO BE DEALT WITH

34. All fines recovered under this Act shall be credited
to the funds of the Board of Guardians.

INSTITUTION AND CONDUCT OF PROSECUTIONS

35. All prosecutions under this Act may be instituted and
conducted by such Officers as the Government shall prescribe,
from time to time, in this behalf.

PROCEEDINGS NOT To BE HELD INVALID

36. No proceedings under this Act shall be deemed invalid
by reason only that the District Magistrate or the Magistrate
of the first or second class, before whom a person, apparently
a vagrant, was required to appear, or before whom a person was
placed under this Act, was not the nearest.

PREVIOUS DECLARATION As VAGRANT How PROVED ?

37. In any proceedings under this Act a certified copy of
the declaration recorded under Section 17 or Section 18 shall be
prima facie evidence that the vagrant named therein has been,
upon the summary enquiry, mentioned in either of those sections,
determied to be, and that he was at the date of declaration,
a vagrant.

COST OF MAINTENANCE OF RECEIVING AND OTHER INSTITUTIONS
How To BE MET?

38. The Government may direct that the cost of the main-
tenance of any receiving centre or institution for the treatment
of vagrants, provided or certified under Sections 4 and 5, and oi
the inmates in such receiving centres and institutions, and of
the Medical superintendent, Superintendents and other officers
and servants appointed thereto, shall be defrayed from the
funds of the Board of Guardians.

292

APPENDIX IV

POWER To MAKE RUIZES

39. The Government may make rules for all or any of the
purposes of this Act and, amongst other things for :

(i) the manner in which the cost of the receiving centres
and institutions for vagrants is to be met ;

(ii)the supervision which may be exercised by the Com-
missioners of the Municipalities of Erankulam, Mattan-
cheri and Trichur ;

(iii) the contributions to be paid to the funds of the Board
of Guardians by other Municipalities or local areas to
which the provisions of this enactment are made appli-
cable by virtue of a notification published under clause
(b) of Section 2 ;

(iv) the receipt of contributions to the Board of Guardians
fron\ members of the public or from any other sources ;
and

( v) any other matter connected with the cost of maintenance
of such receiving centres, institutions, inmates, medical
superintendents or other officers or servants.

REVISION

40. A revision shall lie to the High Court from any order
or sentence of conviction passed by a Magistrate under any of
the provisions of this Act.

OBJECTS AND REASONS

The absence of a wholesome, piece of legislation compre-
hensive enough to bring within its fold every conceivable form
of vagrancy and capable of successfully tackling the problems of
beggary has been keenly felt in our State for a long time. No
doubt, legislation can go only half-way in tackling the problem
and its fulfilment has to be sought in organising poor houses
either by the Government or local bodies or other agencies.
But, a proper legislation will be a guide to sucji constructive
schemes and will go a long way in aiding such local areas where
constructive endeavours at organising poor houses are under-
taken, to which alone this legislation is intended to apply

APPENDIX IV

Individual charity should give place to institutional charity and
44 the would nots " and " could nots " among the indigent classes
dealt with in the proper manner. Hence the Bill.

Sd./ M. K. Devassy,
C. J. Mathew,

Secretary to the Council,
The Huzur Secretariat,
Law Department,
10th February, 1940.
28th Makaram 1115.